Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February, China has overtaken Germany as the top buyer of Russian energy exports, according to a new report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
“Fossil fuel exports are a key enabler of Russia’s military buildup and brutal aggression against Ukraine,” the report states. “Russia earned EUR 93 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports in the first 100 days of the war (February 24 to June 3). The EU imported 61% of this, worth approximately 57 billion EUR.”
“The largest importers were China (EUR12.6bln), Germany (EUR12.1bln), Italy (EUR7.8bln), Netherlands (EUR7.8bln), Turkey (EUR6.7bln), Poland (EUR4.4bln), France (EUR4.3bln) and India (EUR3.4bln),” the report adds. “The revenue comprises an estimated EUR46bln for crude oil, EUR24bln for pipeline gas, EUR13bln for oil products, EUR5.1bln for LNG and EUR4.8bln for coal.”
The report also found that multiple countries have increased their imports of Russian energy to take advantage of their decreased prices relatively to other countries.
“India, France, China, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased imports,” the report says. “India became a significant importer of Russian crude oil, buying 18% of the country’s exports. A significant share of the crude is re-exported as refined oil products, including to the U.S. and Europe, an important loophole to close.”
The report comes as the national average price of gas in the United States reached over $5 per gallon for the first time ever last week, according to GasBuddy.
