Russia has completely evaded G7 sanctions on its crude oil, recovering earlier losses on its petroleum while squeezing Europe again on energy. In fact, Russian crude oil exports increased 50% this spring.
In December 2022, the G7 and Australia agreed to a cap of $60 per barrel on Russian crude oil, with the idea of keeping the petroleum flowing into global markets but limiting Russia’s ability to profit from it. At first, it seemed to work as the price of Russian oil dropped to $40 per barrel. Russia was already responding, though, seeking out countries outside the G7 for its now-discounted oil and building a so-called “dark fleet” of non-Western ships to transport its oil without suffering the price cap, which also applied to oil transported on Western ships.
