New sanctions imposed by the United States against the Russian fuel and energy sector will lead to an increase in the cost of gasoline in the United States. This was stated by US President Joe Biden, his speech was broadcast by the Associated Press agency on Youtube.
However, according to the American president, the increase in price will be insignificant – the increase will amount to three or four cents per gallon, the politician believes.
On January 10, the US imposed the “most significant” sanctions against the Russian energy sector ever. The sanctions list includes two of Russia’s four largest oil producers (Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz), dozens of oilfield service companies, global traders of Russian oil, and more than 180 tankers.
In addition to the parent companies (Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz), the U.S. separately added dozens of their subsidiaries to the sanctions list, including Surgutneftegazbank, Gazprom Neft’s companies in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Luxembourg’s Gazprom Neft International SA, Serbia’s Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS), and so on.
These actions by the U.S. authorities “significantly increase the sanctions risks associated with trading Russian oil,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
In parallel, the United Kingdom imposed similar sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz. London called them “Russian oil giants,” which together produce more than 1 million barrels per day. Since 2014, these companies have been subject to less severe, sectoral sanctions from Washington, limiting their access to US financing or technology.