Russia tried for the third consecutive time to sell its oil, and even with a discount, nobody bought it.
Bloomberg Energy and Commodities columnist Javier Blas tweeted:
NO BUYERS: Surgutneftegas, the Russian oil producer, ***fails for the 3rd consecutive time*** to sell Urals crude via its regular tender. I can not recall ever a situation like this: there are not buyers for Russia oil, even at record discounts | #OOTT #Ukraine #SelfSanctions
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 2, 2022
There are reports of Russian tankers arriving at ports and making deliveries, but those are deliveries of pre-invasion contracts that were already paid for before Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Russia has no buyers for 2-4 million barrels a day of oil:
UPDATED: Oil traders say that Russia does NOT have right now buyers for >2m b/d of its oil exports (crude and products), and that could increase to 4m b/d or even more soon due to **self-sanctioning** (Russia exports ~8m b/d of crude and products) #OOTT https://t.co/QQLIaMuHPn
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 2, 2022
Oil and natural gas are the Russian economy. If most of the world stops buying its oil, the Russian economy will completely collapse. The Russians have admitted that the sanctions are hurting them, but what is happening in the energy market isn’t government sanctions but free-market self-sanctioning.
Buyers are exercising their free-market power not to fund Putin’s war and the murder of Ukrainians.
It is difficult to see a scenario where the Russian energy sector collapses, and the country can keep the invasion of Ukraine going.
The clock is ticking, and with each passing moment that Ukraine can keep control of its country, the more difficult it becomes for Russia to avoid catastrophic economic damage from the invasion.
Putin never counted on the fact that most of the world would decide that they want no part of funding his war.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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