According to the SVR, the Russian state bank VTB is initiating bankruptcy of the oil group First Oil, which owes the bank $78.3 million. The company produces up to 500 thousand tons of oil per year in Komi and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (RF) and has proven reserves of approximately 14 million tons. After bankruptcy, the group's assets will come under the control of government agencies.
First Oil is not the only oil company. Intelligence reports that at the end of 2025, Yangpur, a structure of Belarusneft in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, declared bankruptcy. Previously, the Astrakhan Oil Company and the Gorny Oil Company went bankrupt due to claims from tax authorities.
“First Oil is not an exception, but part of a wave… Half of all oil and gas companies in Russia are now unprofitable: for January – November [2025 года] total minus – 575 billion rubles. Those that remain in profit have reduced it by more than half – to 3 trillion rubles,” the service said in a statement.
As noted by the Foreign Intelligence Service, the causes of the crisis are systemic. Sanction pressure has driven Russian oil prices below $40 per barrel, making some fields unprofitable. In addition, the high key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has made it difficult or impossible to refinance company debts.
At the end of 2025, the total financial result of mining companies was minus $7.5 billion, and the volume of restructured loans reached $35.2 billion – in fact, every fifth loan was rewritten on new terms, they add to the SVR.
Context
The European Union has already introduced 19 sanctions packages, the last of which was approved by the EU Council on October 23, 2025. It included restrictions against Russian banks and crypto exchanges, as well as individual entities in India and China. In addition, the EU restricted the movement of Russian diplomats, introduced new measures on the oil and gas and financial sectors of the Russian Federation, its “shadow fleet”, and also banned the import of Russian liquefied natural gas.
At the end of October, Western media noted that maritime supplies of Russian petroleum products had dropped to the lowest level since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In November 2025, Russian media reported that the Russian Federation was selling oil at the largest discounts since the beginning of the year. After the tightening of sanctions, the main buyers of Russian raw materials – India and China – “are cautious about new agreements.” And in December, the lowest price for Russian oil was recorded since 2022.
On February 9, Bloomberg reported that in January oil production in Russia fell for the second time in a row – to 9.28 million barrels per day, which is 46 thousand barrels per day less than the already reduced level in December and almost 300 thousand barrels less than the volume allowed under the agreement with OPEC +. On February 16, Reuters wrote that maritime exports of Russian oil are falling, while volumes on tankers and in land-based storage facilities are increasing. This could force Russia to cut production even further.
