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The Biden administration on Friday issued sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector, targeting Moscow's oil revenues just days before Donald Trump takes office.
These measures include sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and the blacklisting of 183 vessels involved in the export of energy to Russia.
Many traders, Russian oil service providers and energy officials were targeted.
The US Treasury said the UK would re-impose sanctions on two major oil producers in cooperation with Washington.
Brent oil, the international benchmark, rose about 4 percent on Friday to $79.84 a barrel, a three-month high.
Biden's outgoing team said it was able to take such an important step in Russia's energy sector, the country's largest and most important source of income, because oil markets are expected to be oversupplied by 2025.
It also noted that US inflation has fallen to the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target range.
“To put it plainly, the context has changed, and so the time was right to change our strategy,” a senior Biden official said.
The last-minute move creates a challenge for President-elect Trump, who campaigned for an immediate end to the war between Russia and Ukraine and has expressed reluctance to impose additional sanctions, saying in September: “I want to use sanctions as little as possible.”
If he tries to reverse the move, Trump could face pressure from Congress, where Republicans have urged President Joe Biden to do more to reduce Russian energy revenues.
Under existing sanctions authorities, Congress will be notified if Trump tries to roll back the new measures, and can vote on a resolution to disapprove.
Biden's exit group said the sanctions would be a useful tool for the new Trump administration, which has sharply distanced itself from Biden's Ukraine strategy.
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours, although he now says he will try to end it within six months.
“The next administration will have to decide what they want to do, but we think that by taking these steps, it puts them in a better position to help find a just and sustainable peace in this fight,” one senior Biden official said. he said.
As part of this package, the government department blocked two active Russian liquefied natural gas facilities, a major Russian oil project and foreign organizations that support oil exports to Russia.
It is also investigating Russian-based oil service providers and senior officials of state-run nuclear power company Rosatom.
Adding the 183 ships directly to the sanctions list, rather than the companies they control or own, could have a significant effect.
FT analysis it found that 54 oil tankers previously blocked by the US were forced to carry very cheap oil because it became dangerous for their partners to do business with them.
Some of the vessels condemned on Friday were listed for making “calls at Russian ports where oil has been trading above the price of $60 for crude oil of Russian origin”.
As of December 2022, Ukraine's allies have sought to keep Russian oil flowing but limit the Kremlin's profits from the trade by capping the price.
Ingosstrakh, a large Russian company were previously identified by the FT as an important insurance for shadow fleet ships, it was also added to the list.
If the new sanctions are fully enforced, they will undermine Russia's oil revenues and increase its energy costs by more than billions a month, a senior Biden administration official said.
“We are addressing the risk of sanctions related to Russian oil trade, including shipping and facilitating financing to support Russian oil exports,” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The US has imposed more than 5,000 sanctions and export controls on Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Friday's actions follow Biden's November 2024 decision to sanction Russia's Gazprombank, Russia's main power bank, as part of its efforts to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its war efforts.