Posted on 01/18/2024 2:26:16 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions against 19 tankers that transported Russian oil under the flags of Liberia and Panama.
SOURCE: US Department of Treasury
DETAILS: It is noted that sanctions are imposed in connection with the violation of the restriction on oil prices.
18 tankers fly the flag of Liberia, and one sails under the flag of Panama. Two companies own the tankers: Hennesea Holdings Limited (UAE) and Cielo Marine Ltd (Hong Kong). It is known that the shipping firm Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea), which is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, is the ultimate owner of 18 ships used to transport Russian-origin crude oil at a price higher than US$60 per barrel.
Hennesea was founded in 2022. The company bought outdated tankers that carried Russian crude oil and oil products just before the price restriction went into effect. Hennesea-owned tankers have frequently called at Russian Federation ports.
BACKGROUND: • These sanctions are a continuation of the US Treasury's restrictive measures introduced in October and November 2023 to reduce oil revenues used by the Russian government to finance the war against Ukraine. • In total, the United States is checking 100 tankers from 30 countries for violation of sanctions against Russia. • In October, the United States blacklisted two tankers registered with companies from Türkiye and the UAE. In November, three more tankers and three shipping companies from the UAE were included in the sanctions list. In December, there were three more tankers from companies in the UAE.
hope this doesn’t impact our gas prices at home
ARTICLE
Russia’s Oil Revenues Slump To Six-Month Low
By Tsvetana Paraskova
Jan 18, 2024, 9:30 AM CST
OILPRICE.COM
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russias-Oil-Revenues-Slump-To-Six-Month-Low.html
Widening discounts for Russian grades and lower international benchmark prices dragged Russia’s oil export revenues down to a six-month low in December, despite higher export volumes, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.
All Russian oil exports, including crude and fuels, jumped by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 7.8 million bpd in the last month of 2023, compared to November, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report for January. This was the highest export level in nine months, with crude oil shipments jumping by 240,000 bpd from November to 5 million bpd, and oil product exports increasing by 260,000 bpd month-on-month.
Despite the highest export volumes in nine months, Russia’s estimated export revenues plunged to their lowest level in six months, to $14.4 billion, the IEA said. The decline was the result of increased discounts of Russian oil prices compared to benchmarks and the overall decline in international benchmark prices.
The price of Russia’s flagship crude grade, Urals, dropped in early December to below the G7 price cap of $60 per barrel after the U.S. toughened the enforcement of the sanctions on Russian oil exports.
The tougher enforcement of the G7 sanctions looks to have created troubles for Russia in placing some its crude in some markets, especially one of its top markets, India.
The toughened enforcement and related issues have been holding up Indian purchases of some cargoes of Russian crude oil, with tankers previously headed to India now turning back eastwards, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed earlier this month.
Some of those tankers were already en route to India loaded with Russia’s Sokol grade and departed from the Far Eastern ports in Russia.
At the end of last year, the United States took a tougher stance on the sanctions against Russia and sanctioned several vessels for violating the G7 price cap of $60 per barrel, above which cargoes cannot use Western insurance and financing.
ARTICLE
IEA Raises Oil Demand Outlook for 2024 for Third Consecutive Month
By Tsvetana Paraskova
Jan 18, 2024, 7:45 AM CST
IEA- International Energy Agency
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/IEA-Raises-Oil-Demand-Outlook-for-2024-for-Third-Consecutive-Month.html
Global oil demand is set to rise by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year compared to 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, raising its 2024 demand growth outlook for a third consecutive month.
Although the IEA flagged today in its monthly report a significantly slower growth rate this year, due to “macroeconomic headwinds, tighter efficiency standards and an expanding EV fleet”, the Paris-based agency lifted its forecast for global oil demand growth by 180,000 bpd compared to the estimate from the previous report.
In December, the IEA revised up its 2024 demand growth projection by around 130,000 bpd and expected this year’s demand growth at 1.1 million bpd.
Now it sees that growth rate at 1.24 million bpd, for yet another upward revision in demand coming from the IEA.
Oil demand growth is projected to ease from 2.3 million bpd in 2023 to 1.2 million bpd in 2024, the agency said, noting that oil demand growth slowed to 1.7 million bpd year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2023 – well below the 3.2-million-bpd growth registered during the second and third quarters of 2023.
The IEA may have revised up – again – its oil demand growth forecast, but its projections are well below those of OPEC, which expects robust demand growth both this year and next.
In its own monthly report, OPEC said on Wednesday that higher global economic growth and solid activity in China will see robust world oil demand growth of 1.8 million bpd in 2025, in its first outlook into next year’s demand levels.
OPEC expects global economic growth at 2.8% in 2025, up from the 2.6% growth predicted for 2024, according to the cartel’s closely-watched Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR).
For this year, OPEC left its 2024 demand growth forecast unchanged from the previous month’s projection, at 2.2 million bpd. That’s around 1 million bpd higher than the IEA growth estimate for this year.
Russian Lukoil Refinery Incident Has Moscow Considering Gasoline Export Ban
Charles Kennedy
OILPRICE.COM
Jan 15, 2024, 2:30 PM CST
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russian-Lukoil-Refinery-Incident-Has-Moscow-Considering-Gasoline-Export-Ban.html
Following an emergency stoppage at Russia’s Lukoil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday, Reuters reports via Interfax that Moscow is contemplating a ban on gasoline exports as authorities discuss ways to prevent domestic market shortages.
The NORSI refinery in Nizhny Novgorod is one of the biggest oil refineries in the country, and Monday’s unspecified incident is the third such incident since the beginning of the New Year. Stoppages affected thousands of tons per day in two separate incidents in the first week of January, according to Reuters.
NORSI has the capacity to process some 340,000 barrels per day.
Citing Interfax, Reuters reported that Lukoil has halted gasoline exports and is now attempting to rally other oil companies to help make up supply of some 200,000 tons of high-octane gasoline this month and next.
Reuters cited two sources as saying that the refinery will see a 50% reduction in high-octane gasoline production, with one of those sources warning that the refinery will have to purchase gasoline on the market to supply its petrol stations.
“The breakdown is serious... There will be a reduction in production of AI-95, AI-98 (gasoline grades) this month,” Reuters cited one source as saying.
In mid-November, Russia lifted a ban on gasoline exports put in place two months prior, citing a 2-million-metric-ton surplus but warning that export bans could be reimposed should the surplus vanish.
Soaring prices and shortages as crude oil rallied in mid-September and the Russian ruble weakened forced Moscow to take action to restrict both diesel and gasoline exports in order to stabilize the market.
When the ban was lifted in mid-November, it was on the condition that at least 50% of producer supplies fed the domestic market. The bulk of Russian diesel now goes to Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and South America–the new destinations for Russian diesel following a European Union embargo that went into effect in February last year.
ARTICLE
Oil depot in St Petersburg was struck by Ukrainian-made drone – Ukraine’s Strategic Industries Minister
Economichna Pravda
Thursday, 18 January 2024, 20:41
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/18/7437900/
A Ukrainian-made drone traveled 1,250 kilometers before striking an oil depot in St Petersburg on the night of 17-18 January.
SOURCE: Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, during a discussion at Ukraine House in Davos
QUOTE:
“We can manufacture anything from small FPV drones that cost US$350 to the kind of munitions that traveled all the way to St Petersburg last night. This munition traversed 1,250 kilometers last night before striking its target. Now we can manufacture more of those munitions. An asymmetric war requires countless drones. I’m sure that this year we will see more incidents like this one.”
BACKGROUND:
• Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast on the night of 17-18 January. Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that the attack was a special operation by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
• The Russian Ministry of Defence admitted that a Ukrainian drone attack occurred in Leningrad Oblast on the night of 17-18 January, but claimed that all drones had been intercepted. Meanwhile, Astra, a Russian media outlet, reported that the drone crashed and exploded on the grounds of the St Petersburg Oil Terminal.
Fed reports record loss for 2023 amid surge in interest expenses
Winning the sanctions war-
Russia’s benchmark lending rate is 16%.
Russian Ruble is off 50% since 6/22
https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=2Y
Winning!
“Russia’s benchmark lending rate is 16%.”
In all fairness, this is one thing the Russians are getting absolutely right. Biting the bullet with higher interest rates is how you tamp down inflation.
In the USA we should be doing the same thing and IMHO 16% is probably the floor for what our rate should be.
US government at all levels (Fed, state, municipal, & special district) oppose higher interest rates because they ran their credit cards to the max and they can’t refinance short term debt if they can’t afford the higher interest rates.
Which would mean cutting welfare payments to illegals, cutting stupid social programs in the schools, cutting needless bureaucracies, and cutting back law enforcement. And etc.
So no, I might loathe the Ruzzians but in this much they’re being smarter than we are.
“The tougher enforcement of the G7 sanctions looks to have created troubles for Russia in placing some its crude in some markets, especially one of its top markets, India.”
A good analysis of the impact of Russian sanctions on the US-India relationship:
Correct.
Of course, and theater for those who do not more widely read.
Forbidden Russian oil flows into Pentagon supply chain Washington Post, 14 November 2023So of course is "19 ships is just theater."How Russian oil is reaching the U.S. market through a loophole in the embargo PBS, 16 November 2023
US seeks to claw back Russian oil trade under the G7 price cap Reuters, 18 December 2023
Russia Heads Into 2024 Making A Mockery Of Western Oil Sanctions Forbes, 28 December 2023
Russian oil output expected to hold steady in 2024 Reuters, 27 December 2023
But it will enable this thread to perhaps host some Birmingham, Alabama, YouTube content creator's next opus. And perhaps other sorts of "earn money from home" things....
BS. Overall, the sanctions have hurt Europe and the US more than they have hurt Russia.
US imposes sanctions against UAE company for violating “price ceiling” on Russian oil
18.01.24 21:56
Staff
https://censor.net/en/n3468589
The US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on at least 18 UAE vessels involved in Russia’s attempts to sell its oil above the limits set by the international coalition.
This is stated in the official report of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department (OFAC), released on Thursday, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
“Today, OFAC is imposing the first oil price cap sanctions of 2024 against a shipping company associated with price limitation violations,” the statement said.
Thus, 18 vessels of Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea), headquartered in the United Arab Emirates and previously included in the sanctions list, were subject to the US restrictions. It is the ultimate owner of these vessels, which transported crude oil of Russian origin at a price above $60 per barrel.
In this regard, it is reported that shortly before the price limit on Russian oil was set, Hennesea acquired old tankers, which then repeatedly entered the ports of the Russian Federation.
Agree...And Russians have to eat, too.
The rest of the world is going to get tired of Biden’s BS. I know I am.
I was tired of Biden’s BS years ago.
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