Putin brags about rising oil and gas revenues

“Despite the problems that our detractors and envious people are trying to create for us, the budget is progressing at a fast enough pace, oil and gas revenues are increasing and the most satisfying thing is that non-oil and gas revenues are also increasing.” Putin said in a meeting with the head of the Federal Tax Service, Daniel Yegorov.

All of this will affect 90% of crude oil coming from Russia from January 2023 – with a few exceptions – when the European Union’s (EU) partial ban on Russian oil is not yet in place.

Yegorov explained that Russia’s consolidated budget grew by 32% in the first half of the year, in which “oil and gas revenues undoubtedly play an important role and in market conditions” with high hydrocarbon prices.

In Putin’s opinion, all this means “stabilization of economic indicators” in Russia.

Energy prices in Europe have soared since the start of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine six months ago, so Moscow now earns 89% more than a year ago exporting hydrocarbons to the European Union (EU) – despite selling less – and 15% less – fuels.

This is even after Putin cut gas in whole or in part to twelve member states, citing “technical reasons” and reducing the flow of fuel through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany to 20% of its capacity.

The EU currently spends about 13,916 million euros per month buying coal, oil and gas from Moscow, compared to a monthly average of 7,330 million a year ago. Economic recovery after the pandemic.

The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Joseph Borrell, admitted in an interview with Efe on Wednesday that it was not good news for Russia to make more money from the increase in gas prices, but he said. “What he takes away” from the sale of this fuel is “of little use to him”.

“All the technology you need to cover your material loss, fly your airplanes, no matter how much money you have, you can’t buy it because we don’t want to sell it,” Borrell said.