Oil and gas provide almost a third of the revenues of the Russian budget and more than 60% of its exports. Despite the sanctions introduced against the Russian Federation after the invasion of Ukraine, according to the Center for Studies in the field of energy and clean air (CREA), by May 29, Russia received fuel exports in the amount of more than € 883 billion ($ 973 billion), including € 228 billion from countries that have caused sanctions. The largest share of this amount, € 209 billion, fell on the EU member countries.
The EU states continued to import pipeline gas directly from Russia until Ukraine stopped transit in January 2025, the publication said. Until now, Russian raw oil is supplied through pipelines to Hungary and Slovakia. Also, gas goes to Europe through Turkey, and volumes are constantly growing. So, in January and February 2025, they grew by 26.77% compared to the same period of 2024.
Despite the sanctions of the West, in 2024, Russia's income from fossil fuel fell by only 5% compared to 2023, and export volumes decreased by 6%, Crea data. Last year, Russia's revenue from raw oil exports increased by 6%, and income from the sale of pipeline gas increased by 9% in annual terms.
In addition, gas exports to Europe in 2024 increased by 20%, and the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached record indicators. Currently, half of the export of LNG from Russia goes to the EU, noted in Crea.
In addition to direct sales, some of the oil exported by Russia falls west after processing in third countries. Sometimes Russian oil is diluted with crude oil from other countries. Crea discovered three refineries in Turkey and three in India, processing Russian oil and selling the resulting fuel to the countries that imposed sanctions. According to Crea, these plants were processed by Russian oil in the amount of € 6.1 billion for the subsequent sale of countries that imposed Russian hydrocarbons.
Activists and experts claim that the authorities of Western countries have all the tools to stop the flow of Russian revenue from oil and gas. Thus, the activist of the Global Witness human rights group May Rosner claims that the ban on the export of Russian LNG to Europe and the closing of a loophole for the processing of Russian oil in Western jurisdictions will be important steps at the end of the Western refusal process from Russian hydrocarbons.
According to the analyst Vaibhava Raghunandan, the EU can be relatively easy to abandon the import of Russian LNG. He explained that 50% of Russian exports of LNG are sent to Europe, but this amounted to only 5% of the total consumption of LNG in the EU in 2024. Therefore, if the EU decides to completely abandon Russian gas, it will hit Russia to a much greater extent than consumers in the European Union, he said.
Context
Oil and gas provide approximately half of the Russian exports and up to a third of the budget revenues, the publication “Important Stories” wrote. According to the publication, a drop in oil prices up to $ 30 per barrel will deprive the Russian budget of the amount comparable to current military spending.
In April 2025, the deficit of the Russian budget increased by almost 200% due to collapse of oil prices, reported The Moscow Times, analyzing the data of the Russian Ministry of Finance. According to the results of April, 1.08 trillion rubles were received in the budget. ($ 13.35 billion) oil and gas taxes – 12% less than the same month a year ago.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky He repeatedly stated that “oil is one of the most important keys to the world” in Ukraine, and urged to strengthen sanctions against the energy sector of the Russian Federation.
After the start of the full -scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the European Union reduced the import of energy from Russia. Before a full -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was the main supplier of gas to the EU, providing more than 40% of imports. In 2024, Russian imports amounted to 19% of the total procurement of gas by the countries of the block. By the end of 2027, the EU He wants to completely abandon Russian gas.
Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine stopped at the end of 2024.
On January 8, 2025, at that time, the White House in the field of national security John Kirby said that Ukraine’s decision to stop the transit of Russian gas became One of the most “expensive defeats” in Moscow.
On January 20, the European Commission Speaker Anna-Kaisa Ikonen at a press-brofing in Brussels said that The European Commission is developing a plan for the withdrawal of the entire Russian fuel from the European Union market, but gas supply to Europe continues And Brussels wants to put an end to this.
