Russia can easily redirect exports of its vast energy resources away from the West to countries that really need them while increasing domestic consumption of oil, gas and coal, President Vladimir Putin said on April 13.
The U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia have imposed bans on Russian oil imports in response to what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine, while the EU remains divided on the issue.
“When it comes to Russian oil, gas and coal, we will be able to increase their consumption on the domestic market, stimulate the deep processing of raw materials,” Putin said at a televised meeting with officials to discuss the development of the Russian Arctic.
“We will also increase the supply of energy resources to other regions of the world where they are really needed.”
Putin said the West was to blame for the energy crunch it was experiencing because it would not cooperate with Russia.
“The refusal of several Western countries to cooperate [with Russia] normally, including with regards to Russian energy resources... has already hit millions of Europeans, provoked a real energy crisis,” he said.
“Of course, we are also facing problems but this opens up new opportunities.”
Putin also said that "unfriendly countries" had destroyed supply chains in Russia's Arctic regions and some nations were not fulfilling their contractual obligations, creating issues for Moscow.
Moscow is ready to sell oil and oil products to “friendly countries in any price range,” Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov told Izvestia newspaper on April 13, as traditional buyers are shunning Russian supplies, forcing Moscow to cut oil output.
Russia says its aim is to demilitarize and “denazify” its southern neighbor in an operation that has been met with stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces and triggered sweeping Western sanctions.
Recommended Reading
US Interior Department Releases Offshore Wind Lease Schedule
2024-04-24 - The U.S. Interior Department’s schedule includes up to a dozen lease sales through 2028 for offshore wind, compared to three for oil and gas lease sales through 2029.
Utah’s Ute Tribe Demands FTC Allow XCL-Altamont Deal
2024-04-24 - More than 90% of the Utah Ute tribe’s income is from energy development on its 4.5-million-acre reservation and the tribe says XCL Resources’ bid to buy Altamont Energy shouldn’t be blocked.
Mexico Presidential Hopeful Sheinbaum Emphasizes Energy Sovereignty
2024-04-24 - Claudia Sheinbaum, vying to becoming Mexico’s next president this summer, says she isn’t in favor of an absolute privatization of the energy sector but she isn’t against private investments either.
Venture Global Gets FERC Nod to Process Gas for LNG
2024-04-23 - Venture Global’s massive export terminal will change natural gas flows across the Gulf of Mexico but its Plaquemines LNG export terminal may still be years away from delivering LNG to long-term customers.
US EPA Expected to Drop Hydrogen from Power Plant Rule, Sources Say
2024-04-22 - The move reflects skepticism within the U.S. government that the technology will develop quickly enough to become a significant tool to decarbonize the electricity industry.