Remember how sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports were supposed to strangle the Putin regime's ability to sustain its invasion of Ukraine? It's beginning to look like the global demand for oil and gas, particularly in Asia, is undermining those sanctions. (RELATED: Unmistakable Sign of Strategic Cooperation Between Russia, Iran Emerges)
As Bloomberg's Javier Blas writes:
…Russia has found new customers for the million barrels a day or so that European oil refiners have stopped purchasing due to self-sanctioning. Most of that crude is ending up in Asia — notably India — but also in Turkey and elsewhere in the Middle East. And some is still showing up in Europe, with buyers still purchasing Russian crude ahead of the planned introduction of official sanctions in early November. Everyone who bet that Russian oil production would continue to drop — myself included — got it wrong.
The second indicator is the price of Russian oil. Initially, Moscow was forced to sell its flavors of crude at huge discounts to other varieties to entice buyers. In recent weeks, however, the Kremlin has regained pricing power, taking advantage of a tight market.
And as for all that U.S.-led groveling to OPEC in hopes the cartel would raise production and undermine the Russians? That was an embarrassing waste of time:
Despite a trip by US President Joseph Biden to Riyadh, Putin has retained his influence inside the OPEC+ alliance. Soon after Biden departed from Saudi Arabia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the nation's point-person managing the relationship with the cartel, flew to the kingdom. A few days later, OPEC+ announced a minuscule oil production increase, keeping pressure on global energy markets.
What all this means is the Russian strongman has some room to maneuver against Europe:
The oil market victory means Putin can afford to forego revenue by restricting natural gas sales to Europe, putting pressure on Berlin, Paris and London, which are bracing for massive retail energy price increases and potential shortages that may lead to rationing this winter. Moscow is making so much money selling oil it can afford to restrict crude supply to Eastern European nations, too, as it did earlier this week.
None of this suggests Putin is some sort of genius who anticipated market and political conditions better than the West. It simply means that the economic cordon erected around Russia was full of holes. And emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere were happy to buy whatever Putin had to sell. (RELATED: Russia Smirks as Gas Crisis Consumes Hapless White House)
The main question: will Europe stand firm in its resolve to (eventually) cut off all its Russian energy imports…or will the governments cave, one by one, when winter settles in?
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: Has Ukraine Permanently Broken Europe's Hypocritical Addiction to Russian Gas? >>
The most stupid people on the face of the earth are the people in the U.S. ! The Molten Salt Reactor was developed & tested in the 1960’s/70’s by Oak Ridge National Lab (see MSRE). Mostly Democrats got the project shut down. Everyone listened to Helen Caldicott; wind & solar could power the world & that those men that developed the Molten Salt Reactor had sexual problems (see “TH” Thorium Documentary).
I calculate that with all the money spent on renewable energy, the U.S. could have manufactured enough molten salt reactors to provide AT LEAST THREE (3) times the electricity that the U.S. uses AND now, the U.S. could be selling those CLEAN, SAFE, INEXPENSIVE power plants to the world, with 50 years worth of fuel.
China, UAE, Qatar??