Russia earned €93bn ($98bn) from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its war in Ukraine, with most sent to the European Union and at an average export price about 60% higher than last year, according to new research.
The report from the independent, Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) showed the EU took 61% of Russia’s fossil fuel exports during the war’s first 100 days, worth about €57bn ($60bn).
The top importers were China at €12.6bn, Germany (12.1bn) and Italy (7.8bn) according to the report, as seen by Agence France-Presse.
Russia’s fossil fuel revenues come first from the sale of crude oil (46bn), followed by pipeline gas, oil products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.
Even as Russia’s exports plummeted in May, with countries and companies shunning its supplies over the Ukraine invasion, the global rise in fossil fuel prices continued to fill the Kremlin’s coffers, with export revenues reaching record highs.
Russia’s average export prices were about 60% higher than last year, according to CREA.
Some countries have upped their purchases from Moscow, including China, India, the United Arab Emirates and France, the report added.
CREA analyst Lauri Myllyvirta said:
As the EU is considering stricter sanctions against Russia, France has increased its imports to become the largest buyer of LNG in the world.”
Since most of these are spot purchases rather than long-term contracts, France is consciously deciding to use Russian energy in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Myllyvirta added.
