In December, revenues of Russia’s state-owned energy sector due to lower crude oil prices and a stronger ruble could almost halve compared to last year, Reuters reported, citing its calculations.
According to the agency’s analysis, Russia’s revenues will be about 410 billion roubles (just over five billion dollars). That would be the lowest since August 2020, when energy sales fell due to the pandemic and totalled 405 billion rubles, the agency said.
Full-year revenue is expected to fall by almost a quarter to about eight and a half trillion roubles, below the Russian Finance Ministry’s forecast.
Reuters cites falling oil prices and a strengthening ruble as reasons for the drop in revenue. In November, the price of Russian oil in roubles fell by 17 per cent compared to October.
On 22 October, the US Finance Ministry imposed sanctions against the largest Russian oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil. US President Donald Trump expressed hope that the sanctions imposed against Russian oil companies would have an impact on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In late November, Vladimir Putin admitted that he did not expect new US sanctions against Russian oil companies after talks with Trump in Alaska.
Oil and gas revenues are one of the main sources of revenue for the Russian budget.