Japan announced the desire to significantly increase oil and gas imports from Russia. As stated in interview to TV channel “Russia 24” the Minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko, so Tokyo wants to move away from overdependence on hydrocarbon supplies from the Middle East.
“Traditionally Japan buys most of the oil and gas in Middle East countries. And we are concerned about this dependence because this route is very unsafe, fraught with geopolitical risks. For us it is very important to ensure that the Northern route of energy supply, i.e. from Russia. This is very important from the point of view of energy security of our country”, — said the Minister.
April 5, Saudi Arabia lowered oil prices for the European market, which is dominated by Russia. The range of reduction was from 30 to 45 cents per barrel. The cost of raw materials for American buyers have grown. In February Riyadh raised the price of Arab Light oil by 30 cents for Asian customers. There was also increased cost of raw materials for sale in the USA, Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean countries.
April 20 Financial Times reported that Russian oil companies have found a way to cope with the difficulties they have because of the sanctions. Proof of this is the implementation of projects such as “Central-Olginskaya-1” in the Arctic, where Rosneft started drilling.