The Group of Seven, which consists of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, is stepping up efforts to push Russia out of the global commodity market. They intend to limit the country’s revenues from energy exports by tightening compliance with the price cap on Russian oil.
"We will continue to apply significant pressure on Russian revenues from energy and other commodities," the G7 said in a statement.
However, the Russian authorities are on the alert and are ready to fight back. "It is an undisputed fact that the United States has been moving heaven and earth in recent years to tailor the global market of hydrocarbons to suit itself and get a foothold as a major exporter of shale oil and natural gas in its liquefied form," Russia's foreign ministry said.
In January 2024, the US Treasury Department added 17 Liberian-flagged bulk carriers and oil tankers to its Russian sanctions list. The restrictions also targeted Abu Dhabi-based shipping company Hennesea Holdings, which owns the vessels.
Earlier, in late December 2023, the United States updated the rules for countries buying Russian oil at a price below the $60 per barrel ceiling, under which crude buyers must provide information on all logistics costs in transactions involving Russian fuel. These changes came into effect on February 19, 2024. According to the US Treasury Department, this measure is designed to reduce Russia's oil export revenues, while keeping the global energy market stable. At the same time, it is noted that the previous oil price cap proved to be ineffective.
