Urals crude oil price monthly 2007-2024

In January 2024, the average monthly price of Urals crude oil, Russia's major export oil brand, was approximately 62.4 U.S. dollars per barrel, having increased by 2.4 U.S. dollars per barrel from the previous month. In 2020, the price of Urals experienced a huge decrease at the beginning of the year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, dropping to as low as 16.6 U.S. dollars per barrel in April.

What is the purpose of the Russian oil price cap?

In early December 2022, the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom (UK), and the United States), the European Union (EU), and Australia formed the Price Cap Coalition and imposed a price cap of 60 U.S dollars per barrel on oil originating in Russia. The aim of the price ceiling is to decrease Russia’s earnings from oil exports and thereby limit the Russian government’s budget to finance the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the cap is meant to ensure that Russia continues to supply oil to emerging economies, though at a discounted price. With the cap in place, Russia is not able to sell oil at a higher price even to third countries if the oil tankers are financed or insured by members of the Price Cap Coalition. In early February 2023, a price cap of 100 U.S. dollars per barrel was imposed on Russian refined oil products.

Global dependence on Russian oil

China was Russia’s leading crude oil export destination in 2021, with the value of exports measured at nearly 35.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. In physical terms, Russia supplied more than 72 million metric tons of crude oil to China in that year, being the second leading crude oil import origin in the country after Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, European countries were major consumers of Russian oil prior to the war in Ukraine. For instance, Russia accounted for over 78 percent of oil and petroleum products imported into Slovakia in 2020. To compare, the dependence rate stood at nearly 69 percent in Lithuania, 30 percent in Germany, and 12 percent in the UK.