According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), cited by CNN, oil exports from Russia have risen to the highest level since Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine more than a year ago.

Russian oil tankerPhoto: Ian Fairbrother / Alamy / Profimedia Images

Russia exported 8.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil in April, according to the IEA’s monthly oil report published on Tuesday, News.ro reported. The increase in the export of crude oil compensated, on the other hand, the decrease in the export of refined products, the agency states.

The increase came despite the fact that last year the European Union imposed a ban on all seaborne imports of crude oil from Russia and a total ban on imports of refined petroleum products.

However, Russia managed to divert huge volumes of its oil to China and India.

India resells Russian oil

India has become one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine and sends much of it back to Europe as refined fuel.

In an article published in the Financial Times on Tuesday, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy department, Josep Borrell, said that the EU should take drastic measures against India, which sells Russian oil to Europe. Borrell warned that this practice “definitely constitutes evasion of sanctions and member states must take action.”

“Russia appears to have no problem finding buyers willing to take its crude and oil products,” the IEA report said.

  • Read also: India, the spinning wheel of Russian oil

Russia has failed to meet its obligations to OPEC+ to reduce exports

However, Russia’s oil export revenues in April fell by 27 percent compared to the same month in 2022, the agency estimated.

Tax revenues from the country’s oil and gas sector, which accounts for about 45% of the federal budget, fell by nearly two-thirds over the same period.

The IEA said Russia could increase oil exports as a way to offset falling revenues. According to IEA estimates, the country failed to fulfill its commitment to OPEC+, a group of oil-producing countries, to cut exports by 500,000 barrels per day last month.

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