OPEC head: Too early to assess impact of sanctions on Russian oil exports

At the current stage, it is too early to talk about the impact of sanctions on Russian oil supplies, OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said in an interview with Sky News Arabia, Report informs.

"It is too early to talk about the impact of sanctions on Russian oil supplies," al-Ghais said, noting that Russia is a major player in the energy market and it is not easy to replace its volumes.

The OPEC chief believes that the reduction in energy demand from developed countries will be compensated by growing demand from India and China.

Traditionally, Russia has been the main oil supplier to Europe and covered more than 20% of the EU's need for raw materials. But in response to the situation in Ukraine, Western countries began to develop sanctions measures, the purpose of which, among other things, was to limit Moscow's income from oil exports. In response to this, Russia began to reorient its energy resources to the markets of friendly countries. First of all, it is the Asia-Pacific region, African and Latin American countries.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the ceiling imposed by Western countries on Russian oil costs the Russian Federation 160 million euros ($172 million) daily. This figure will rise to $280 million a day from February 5, when the restriction will apply to petroleum products.