The United States completely abandons Russian oil and gas

The United States of America imposes a ban on all imports of Russian oil and gas, reports Ukrainian truth.

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This was announced on March 8 in his speech by US President Joe Biden.

“We ban all imports of Russian oil, gas and energy. This means that Russian oil will no longer be accepted at US ports,” Biden emphasized.

According to him, the decision to ban the import of Russian oil and gas will hit the United States itself, but Washington believes that it must take this step.

“Defending democracy comes at a cost, but we knew we had to do it,” Biden said.

He added that he consulted with allies before making the decision, but he said the US was going ahead with the ban "with the understanding that many of our European allies and partners may not be able to join us."

“The United States produces far more oil domestically than all of Europe and all European countries together,” the US President added.

In addition, Britain announced that by the end of 2022 it would completely stop importing Russian oil.

What does this mean and what threatens?

A full embargo would be most effective if it extended to European allies who are also desperate to stop the violence in Ukraine and the danger Moscow poses to the continent. ABCNews.

At the moment, a broad US-European ban seems elusive. On March 7, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made it clear that his country, Europe's largest consumer of Russian energy, has no plans to join any ban. In response, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman hinted that the US could act alone or with a small group of allies.

“Not all countries did the same,” Sherman said, “but we all came to the need for this step, which we all agreed to.”

The impact on Russia is likely to be minimal. The United States imports a small share of Russia's oil exports and does not buy natural gas.

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Last year, approximately 8% of US oil and petroleum product imports came from Russia. Cumulatively, imports in 2021 amounted to the equivalent of 245 million barrels, which is approximately 672 barrels of oil and petroleum products per day. But Russian oil imports are declining rapidly as buyers shun the fuel.

Because the amount of oil the US imports from Russia is small, Russia could potentially sell that oil elsewhere, perhaps China or India. However, it will probably have to sell it at a deep discount because fewer and fewer buyers are accepting Russian oil.

Alternatives

If Russia were eventually cut off from the global market, rogue countries such as Iran and Venezuela could "come back" as oil sources, said Claudio Galimberti, an analyst at Rystad Energy. Such additional sources could, in turn, potentially stabilize prices.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said a group of Biden administration officials were in Venezuela over the weekend to discuss energy and other issues. The officials discussed a number of issues, including energy security, she said.

“By eliminating some of the demand, we lower the price of Russian oil, which reduces Russian revenues,” said Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners. — Theoretically, this is a way to reduce Russia’s earnings on each barrel sold, maybe not by much, but by a part. The most important question is whether there will be more pressure on the other side of the Atlantic."

News of the impending U.S. oil ban sent gasoline prices up, with a gallon selling for an average of $4,17.

A month ago, oil was about $90 per barrel. Prices have now jumped to around $130 a barrel as buyers shun Russian oil. Oil refiners were already afraid of being left with oil that they would not be able to resell if sanctions were imposed.

Shell said March 8 it would stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and close its filling stations and other operations there days after Ukraine's foreign minister criticized the energy giant for continuing to buy Russian oil.

Energy analysts warn that prices could rise to $160 or even $200 a barrel if buyers continue to shun Russian oil. This trend could send U.S. gasoline prices above $5 a gallon, a scenario that Biden and other politicians are desperate to avoid.

The US oil industry said it shares the goal of reducing dependence on foreign energy sources and is committed to working with the Biden administration and Congress. Even without sanctions, some US refineries terminated contracts with Russian companies. Imports of Russian crude oil and oil products fell.

“Our industry has taken important and meaningful steps to sever ties with Russia and voluntarily restrict Russian imports,” said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's largest lobbying group.

Preliminary data from the US Department of Energy show that Russian oil imports fell to zero in the last week of February.

And what about Europe?

A ban on Russian oil and natural gas would be painful for Europe. Russia provides about 40% of Europe's natural gas for home heating, electricity and industry, and about a quarter of Europe's oil. European officials are looking for ways to reduce their dependence, but this will take time.

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UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said his country will use the rest of the year to phase out imports of oil and petroleum products to "give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports."

On March 7, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck defended the European decision taken so far to exempt Russian energy from sanctions.

“The sanctions were chosen deliberately to have a major impact on the Russian economy and the Putin regime, but they were also chosen deliberately so that we as an economy and a nation could sustain them for a long time,” Habeck said. “Rash behavior can lead to the exact opposite.”

“Over the past 20 years, we have driven ourselves into even greater dependence on fuel imports from Russia,” Habeck said. “This is a bad state of affairs.”

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would have “every right” to stop natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to take revenge on Germany for stopping the parallel Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Novak added that “we did not make this decision” and that “no one will benefit from this.” His statement marked a departure from Russia's previous assurances that it did not intend to cut off gas supplies to Europe.

Oil is easier to replace than natural gas. Other countries could increase oil production and supply it to Europe. But a lot of oil will have to be replaced, and that will drive up prices even more, because the oil will probably have to be moved further.

Replacing the natural gas that Russia supplies to Europe is likely not possible in the short term. Most of the natural gas that Russia supplies to Europe passes through pipelines. To replace it, Europe will mainly import liquefied natural gas, known as LNG. There are not enough pipelines on the continent to distribute gas from coastal import facilities to the more remote corners of the continent.

Europe accounted for two-thirds of US LNG exports in January, according to S&P Global Platts.

While US oil and gas producers may be drilling more natural gas, their export capacity is already running at full capacity. These facilities will take years and billions of dollars to expand.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the night of February 24 began full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine.
• In the light of these events in Russia and around the world, protests against the invasion of Ukraine
• US and UK imposed broad economic sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• February 25 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk (Belarus) for negotiations with Kiev. He specified that the delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration.
• In the USA there were large-scale rallies in support of Ukraine.
• Pope Francis visits the Russian Embassy February 25, to personally "express his concerns about the war" in Ukraine, which made an unprecedented deviation from diplomatic protocol.
• European Union, USA and UK imposed sanctions and froze the assets of Putin and Lavrov.
• The United States declared its readiness to start accept refugees from Ukraine.
• February 26, the world famous and one of the most popular groups of hackers Anonymous recorded a video message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They promised to find all "skeletons in the closet" and "leave no stone unturned".
• As it became known, the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn is located in Ukraine and is making a documentary for Vice about events in the country.
• February 28 The world's largest aircraft An-225 was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it caused alarm and sadness among the aviation world, in which it occupies an almost cult status.
• On the same day, the United States and France called on their citizens immediately consider leaving Russia.
• From the very beginning of the invasion, many actions took place around the world in support of Ukraine. How it was in the USA, see our material.
• On March 1, the United States asked 12 Russian diplomats from the United Nations leave the US accusing them of "espionage activities" as Russia continues its advance into Ukraine.
• March 2 Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin offered a $1 million reward for dead or alive Putin.
• Airbus and Boeing refused to work with Russia, this endangers almost the entire civil aviation of the country.
• March 3 CEO and founder of the Russian TV channel "Rain" announced the suspension of the channel. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Which of the Hollywood stars supported Ukraine, and who was on the side of Russia, read here.
• What Russians living in Ukraine say about the war, you can find out in our material.
• Which companies left Russia and how it hit the economy, read on link.
• Where citizens of Ukraine can receive special services in Poland - by link.
• The US State Department has warned citizens of Ukraine that the US Mission in Ukraine does not currently offer visa services. That's it services provided in Germany.
• Meanwhile, the killers tried to kill the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky at least three times since Russia invaded his country on February 24.
• In Russia, the situation with free media is becoming more and more difficult. Even relatives of Ukrainians from Russia do not believe in shelling of Ukraine.
• Russian diplomats announced persona non grata, left the US, and the Russian airlines stop international flights.
• Meanwhile at the International Court of Justice in The Hague began consideration of the claim of Ukraine to Russia. The subject of the lawsuit is allegations of genocide.
• Russia began active preparations for shutdown from the global internet.
• Thousands of Ukrainians are leaving the country. 11-year-old boy from Zaporozhye made it to the border with Slovakia and crossed it on foot.
• The United States supports Ukraine: both government officials and ordinary Americans. 20 workers in West Coast ports refuse tohandle Russian cargo. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was awarded a medal Liberty Ronald Reagan.
• In the meantime, the sanctions are taking effect: Russia is rapidly rising in price or disappearing from the sale of drugs and medical equipment manufactured by countries that have imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation because of the war in Ukraine.

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