US aims to halve Russian energy income by 2030

The United States intends to halve Russia's oil and gas revenues by the end of this decade.

Source: Geoffrey Pyatt, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, in an interview with the Financial Times, as reported by European Pravda. 

Quote: "We’re going to do everything we can to help make that true," Pyatt said, referring to the International Energy Agency's forecast that Russia's oil and gas exports could drop by at least 40%-50% by 2030 if Western sanctions against the Russian energy industry persist.

The official, who previously worked as an ambassador to Ukraine, said the US sanctions, in particular against energy carriers, should become a guarantee that the Russian Federation will never again be able to attack one of its neighbours.

"This is something that we’re going to have to stick to for years to come, as long as Putin persists in this war," said Pyatt.

"The goal of these sanctions is to change Russia’s behaviour and to ensure that Putin is not in a position, whenever some kind of peace is achieved . . . to use three or four years to rearm and prepare himself and prepare his military for stage three of the Ukraine invasion," he added.

Pyatt stressed that the United States is looking for ways to weaken the Russian Federation’s shadow fleet, which it uses to bypass restrictions that allow it to sell oil to buyers, mainly in India and China, at prices that exceed the cap set by the G7 countries.

Asked whether Washington would support measures that would force Western insurers to demand more information from shippers and conduct more thorough inspections of vessels carrying Russian oil, the official said the US would monitor developments and urged journalists to keep an eye on them.

"My colleagues at the Treasury who lead on this are looking very hard at the question of how do we ensure the continued effectiveness of this policy," he said.

Pyatt also indicated that impeding Russia's future revenues is as important as harming its current finances.

"That has enormous geopolitical implications in terms of how the Kremlin is able to behave internationally and Russia’s ability both to use its energy as a strategic asset but also the Kremlin’s ability to continue engaging in revanchism against its neighbours," Pyatt concluded.

Background:

• Previously, the media reported that oil tanker owners from the world's most powerful ship-owning nation, Greece, have reduced the amount of Russian oil they are shipping.
• Prior to that, it was reported that three major Greek shipping companies had stopped transporting Russian oil in recent weeks to avoid US sanctions imposed on individual oil carriers from the Russian Federation.
• In October, the United States introduced the first sanctions against tanker owners in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates which had been transporting Russian oil at a higher price than the US$60/barrel cap set by Western countries. Later, three more ships were sanctioned.

Read more: Sanctions targeting Russian oil are falling apart. What will the West do?

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