Reuters reports:
As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they’re snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped….
It also banned companies and individuals in the bloc from providing financing, brokerage, shipping and insurance services to ship Russian oil elsewhere if the crude was bought above a price cap of $60 a barrel that came into effect on Monday.
However, the Financial Times’ report differs, saying that “there are no sanctions on Russian gas, owing to its importance to some European nations.’”
One fact is irrefutable: the coming winter combined with the globalist green agenda has triggered desperation in EU countries, who not too long ago made a full show of bravado regarding sanctions against Russia.
In fact, in October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to a Putin plan to become Russian gas hub for the EU.
Whatever the case is about EU’s gas crisis and its need for Russian oil one way or another, Russia’s war against Ukraine has not caused Russia any suffering due to sanctions. In an NPR article “Why The Sanctions Against Russia Aren’t Working.”:
Russia’s export income has risen by more than 40% to roughly $120 billion year-to-date because of higher prices, and is likely to stay that high through the end of the year. The largest contribution to this comes from natural gas, which is still in high demand throughout Europe.
The bottom line: the green agenda is disastrous for the West. Globalists who push this hoax are finding out the hard way what it means to be completely energy dependent on foreign countries that do not share their interests.
“Europe’s imports of Russian seaborne gas jump to record high,” by Shotaro Tani, Financial Times, November 28, 2022:
Europe is importing a record amount of seaborne Russian gas, highlighting how the region has not completely shaken off its dependence on the country for the crucial fuel even as flows through pipelines have all but stopped.
Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, which is typically transported on big tankers, rose more than 40 per cent between January and October this year, compared with the same period in 2021, highlighting the difficulty for Europe in weaning itself off gas from Moscow despite Brussels’ attempts to shift away from Russian sources.
Russian LNG made up 16 per cent of European seaborne imports during the period. While the total volume of 17.8 billion cubic metres represented a fraction of the 62.1 bcm pipeline gas flows during this time, it nevertheless leaves Europe exposed to Vladimir Putin’s weaponisation of energy.
One day, Putin could wake up and say, ‘we’ll stop sending LNG to Europe’, forcing the region to buy from an even more expensive spot market,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, global research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
Russia could also divert the cargoes to LNG-starved countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan at cheap prices to “achieve political gains” and “put pressure on Europeans”, she added. “It’s very important not to forget that a lot of countries are suffering, because they cannot afford LNG.”
There are no sanctions on Russian gas, owing to its importance to some European nations’ energy security. The Kremlin has taken advantage by gradually reducing the flow through pipelines after the invasion of Ukraine, boosting prices and fuelling a cost of living crisis across the continent….
