The EU, as part of the 20th sanctions package, has imposed new restrictions on the Russian oil sector, the LNG market, and has banned the import of platinum, copper, nickel, aluminum products, molybdenum, and cobalt, according to a regulation published on April 23. EU Council Regulation.
The anticipated ban on providing services for transporting Russian oil does not exist in the new package. However, the EU Council reported that the measures include a "basis for a future ban," which will be implemented in coordination with the G7. The regulation suggests that it is advisable to make changes to the price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products. It is expected that new restrictions will be introduced at the suggestion of the EU foreign affairs representative. "This will allow alliance members to promptly block maritime logistics of Russian oil if the price cap parameters change," the document states.
The EU considered the ban on servicing maritime transportation of Russian oil as an alternative to the price cap mechanism, noted Kpler analysts.
As of today, if the commodity cost does not exceed the threshold, companies from EU countries and the G7 can participate in transporting oil from Russia. On February 1, the EU and the UK reduced the limit to $44.1 per barrel from the previously active $47.6 per barrel. The price cap is subject to review every six months to maintain it at 15% below the average market price.
According to S&P Global, the desire for full support from the G7 may postpone the decision on banning the provision of services for transporting Russian oil for several months. Representatives from major shipping economies—Malta and Greece, as well as Hungary and Slovakia—expressed opposition, analysts indicated.
According to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea and the Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite, in March, G7-associated tankers accounted for 20.3% of Russian oil exports, amounting to 3.4 million barrels per day. This is down from 29.2% in February and marks the lowest level in ten months. G7-associated tankers have reduced transportation of Russian crude due to the price increase following the onset of the conflict in the Middle East.
- The EU sanctions targeted Bashneft (largest shareholder—Rosneft), Slavneft (owned by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft), the ports of Primorsk and Tuapse, as well as 12 refineries in Russia, including Lukoil.
- A total of 46 vessels were banned from entering ports and providing marine services, expanding the blacklist to 632 tankers.
- The EU also imposed restrictions on the sale of tankers from EU countries to prevent their ultimate use by Russia, as stated in the document. European countries are now required to provide documentation stating that the sale of tankers is "not for the RF."
- Moreover, the ports of Murmansk and Karimun in Indonesia fell under European restrictions.
As reported by Reuters, by 2025, Karimun became one of the main transshipment points for Russian oil products, which were then exported to Malaysia, Singapore, and China. In December, the supply volume was estimated at 300,000 tons.
Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market, suggests that tankers registered outside the EU and the largest OECD countries are likely to play an even larger role in transporting crude from Russia. The decrease in re-export through the Karimun terminal presents risks, but it is likely that another similar location will be found, he adds. Overall, he states that the primary impact of the current sanctions package will be an increase in logistics costs. Additionally, he notes that unlike the USA, the EU lacks a mechanism for monitoring previously imposed restrictions.
Regarding LNG, the EU plans to introduce a ban on providing Russian companies with LNG terminal services starting January 1, 2027. The European Commission believes that this ban provides an automatic basis for LNG terminal operators in the EU to terminate long-term contracts with Russian companies. Marat Samarsky, an advisor at Verba Legal, states that general foreign policy and security policy take precedence over other branches of law. "We have seen this in older cases and more recent ones where the court justified the emergency introduction of sanctions without verifying the grounds based on urgency and effectiveness," he notes.
The services of LNG terminals include, among other things, unloading, storage, dispatch, mooring, regasification, liquefaction, loading into tank trucks, LNG bunkering, including temporary storage, etc. The Yamal LNG plant (50.1% owned by Novatek, 20% by TotalEnergies) has a 20-year agreement with Belgium's Fluxys LNG for the use of the LNG transshipment storage at the terminal in Zeebrugge. As of April 2025, a ban on the re-export of Russian LNG to third countries commenced in EU ports, after which Russia increased supplies to the European market.
The new sanctions will also prohibit services—technical, financial, or brokerage— to Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers starting April 25, 2026.
As reported, a ban on supplies of LNG to the EU through long-term contracts will take effect starting January 1, with a ban on short-term contracts commencing on April 25, 2026. Due to the conflict in the Middle East, there have been isolated calls from European businesses to reconsider this ban. For instance, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian group Eni, mentioned that it is still unclear how the bloc will compensate for the loss of about 20 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG. However, the European Commission has announced that it will remain firm in its intentions. Prior to this, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen stated that the EU would not abandon its plans to stop purchasing any Russian energy, as this would be a "huge mistake."
Analysts did not expect significant effects from the new restrictions on metal supplies for Russia (see "Kommersant" from February 9). For instance, Norilsk Nickel reported in its 2024 financial statements that it had redistributed a significant portion of its sales of copper, nickel, and precious metals from Europe primarily to Asian and Russian markets.
Source: Kommersant
