G7 – The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andrii Iermak, said that the price ceiling for Russian oil agreed upon by the G7 countries, together with Australia, should be reduced to 30 dollars per barrel to hit the Russian economy hard. The G7 countries and Australia, as well as the EU countries, decided to cap the price at 60 dollars per barrel. The measure, aimed at reducing Russia’s income in the context of the war against Ukraine, is complementary to the European embargo on Russian oil imported by sea that comes into force on Monday. More specifically, through this capping measure, the EU forbids European companies involved in the delivery of Russian oil by sea (transportation, insurance, etc.) to offer their services, if the delivered oil exceeds the threshold of 60 dollars per barrel. The price of Russian oil is currently around 65 dollars per barrel, so this measure will have, at least for now, a limited impact on Russian oil exports. Moscow has already warned that it will not deliver oil to the countries that impose price caps.
Export – Romania started, on Saturday, the export of gas to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) through the Iaşi-Ungheni pipeline, the Transgaz representatives said. According to them, it is the first time that gas is transported from Romania to the Republic of Moldova through this pipeline. On November 22, Chişinău officials stated that Gazprom would reduce natural gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova by 56.5% from December 1, accusing that only a part of the amount of gas that Russia delivers to this country through the pipelines that cross Ukraine actually reaches the Republic of Moldova.
