Russian largest oil, gas companies profits fall by 41% in 2023

The Central Bank of Russia reported this in its Financial Stability Review presented on November 30, the Moscow Times reports.

"This was due to a deteriorating price environment and a decline in oil exports amid tighter sanctions, disruption of supply chains and financial flows," the review says.

In the first nine months of 2023, oil exports through the Transneft system decreased by 8%, and the average price of the Urals grade fell by 26%, as noted by the Central Bank. Additionally, this year, each barrel was exported for an average of $59.54, compared to $80.58 last year.

"The introduction of a price limit on Russian oil and oil products has accelerated the reorientation of export flows to Asia and Africa, which has caused a rise in logistics and transaction costs. In addition, the risks of imposing secondary sanctions on the oil industry remain," the Central Bank says.

In January-September 2023, Russia's largest oil and gas exporters reduced their net sales of foreign currency by 58%, which "affected the balance of supply and demand for currency in the domestic market," the authors of the review add.

Gazprom, Russia's largest gas production and distribution company, became the weak link, losing the European market. After cutting off supplies to most customers in the EU, the company suffered more than a trillion rubles in net losses and was forced to cut production by a quarter compared to the pre-war period. In the first nine months of 2023, Rosneft, Russian state-owned oil and gas company, reported an 8% drop in revenue to RUB 6.612 trillion.

• On November 16, the US imposed sanctions on three organizations linked to the Russian Federation for exporting Russian oil at inflated prices.
• On November 23, Reuters reported that three Greek companies stopped transporting oil from Russia under pressure from US sanctions.
• On November 28, the media reported that Russia was facing serious problems in trading its oil in Asia. These issues stem from the inadequacies in payments, particularly in a currency other than the US dollar.