russia-sanctions
09 February 2023
EU agrees level of price caps for Russian petroleum products
The Council of the European Union said, 4 February, that it had decided to set ‘two price caps for petroleum products falling under CN code 2710 which originate in or are exported from Russia. These are the price per barrel at or below which petroleum products from Russia are exempt from the prohibition to provide:
- maritime transport of petroleum products to third countries and
- technical assistance, brokering services or financing or financial assistance, related to the maritime transport of petroleum products to third countries.
The first price cap for petroleum products traded at a discount to crude oil is set at USD 45 per barrel, while the second price cap for petroleum products traded at a premium to crude is set at USD 100 per barrel.’
It added: ‘The level of the cap was established in close cooperation with the Price Cap Coalition and [became] applicable as of 5 February 2023. A transitional period of 55 days is foreseen for those vessels carrying Russian petroleum products, which were purchased and loaded onto the vessel prior to 5 February 2023 and unloaded prior to 1 April 2023. In addition, the Council will revert to review the price cap mechanism for crude oil as of mid-March and the review will occur regularly every two months.’
