Putin Calls for Sanctions Revenge, Threatens to Cap Uranium Exports

Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked Moscow to consider limiting exports of some commodities such as uranium, nickel, and titanium in retaliation for Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. 

“Russia is the leader in strategic raw materials reserves like uranium, titanium, nickel,” Putin said during a televised meeting with the government. Since Western sanctions limit exports of some Russian commodities like diamonds, “maybe we should also think about restrictions,” he said, adding that such limits should not harm Russia

The U.S. and its Western allies have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia’s economy as punishment for its war in Ukraine. However, many vital commodities-- including nickel, palladium, and uranium– are not under any restrictions and continue to flow to Western nations.

Back in June, the EU approved sanctions on Russian gas, the first time it has done so. According to the Belgian EU presidency, the EU will hit Russia with unprecedented sanctions against its lucrative gas sector–a move that could potentially drain hundreds of millions from Moscow’s war chest.

However, the proposed penalties won’t hit the majority of Russia’s liquid natural gas (LNG) exports to the EU; instead, the sanctions would prevent EU countries from re-exporting Russian LNG after receiving it and also ban EU involvement in upcoming LNG projects in Russia. The sanctions will also prohibit the use of EU ports, finance and services to re-export Russian LNG, essentially meaning that Russia would have to overhaul its LNG export model. Currently, Russia supplies LNG to Asia through Europe, with Belgium, Spain and France being major hubs.

“If they can't transship in Europe, they might have to take their ice-class tankers on longer journeys,” Laura Page, a gas expert at the Kpler data analytics firm, has told Politico, adding that Russia “may not be able to get out as many loadings from Yamal because their vessels can’t get back as quickly.”

Norway and the U.S. have replaced Russia as Europe’s biggest gas supplier: Last year, Norway supplied 87.8 bcm (billion cubic meters) of gas to Europe, good for 30.3% of total imports while the U.S. supplied 56.2 bcm, accounting for 19.4% of total.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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