Russia claims to have lost "trillions of dollars" due to lower oil prices

Russia has lost trillions of dollars due to the undervaluation of its oil and oil products, says Igor Artemyev, chairman of the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange.

"I am convinced that even in Soviet times and now Russia has lost trillions of dollars, not billions, on the undervaluation of Russian oil and oil products," he said in an interview with the Russia 1 TV channel.

Artemyev said that for decades there has been a trend of saying that something is forming in the global markets.

"I think that here, given the lack of transparency, there are very serious conditions for manipulation," he added.

Russian oil prices are calculated by international pricing agencies based on surveys of traders who trade it. Artemyev considers this method non-transparent, even though the methods for calculating quotations are publicly available.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, some Russian oil companies have become unprofitable due to the discounts they offer to buyers in India and China.

During December 22–28, the price of Russian Urals in the ports of the Baltic and Black Seas fell to $33-34. This is the lowest level since the pandemic.

• In November, President Zelenskyy said that Russia in 2025 may lose at least $37 billion in oil and gas revenues due to sanctions and Ukrainian long-range strikes.
• According to Reuters, Russia's oil and gas revenues will be reduced by almost half in December compared to 2024 – down to $5.17 billion.
• Earlier in December, Bloomberg wrote that Russian oil prices fell by almost a third in three months because of the sanctions.