Russia’s Oil Revenues Doubled in April Compared to a Year Earlier

• Russia's oil revenues doubled in April 2024 from the same month a year earlier, climbing to $11.5 billion.
• Higher oil prices and a weaker ruble contributed to the surge in revenue.
• Western sanctions and the price cap on Russian oil are struggling to cut off Russian revenue.

Russia’s oil and gas revenues hit $13.5 billion (1.23 trillion Russian rubles) in April, Russian finance ministry data showed on Monday. The Kremlin received nearly double the oil income for the Russian budget that it did in the same month of 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates.

The weaker Russian ruble and the higher price of Russia’s flagship Urals crude amid higher international oil prices contributed to higher revenues from oil-related taxes and from all total oil and gas sales, per Bloomberg’s calculations.  

The Russian budget received as much as $11.55 billion (1.053 trillion rubles) in the form of oil-related taxes in April 2024, up from $5.45 billion (497 billion rubles) for the same month in 2023, according to the estimates by Bloomberg based on today’s release of data from the finance ministry.

The doubled revenues from oil for Russia highlight the difficulties of the Western countries to reduce Putin’s income from oil, despite the price cap on Russia’s oil and the ramp-up of the sanctions enforcement in recent months.

Last month, Reuters calculations also showed that higher oil prices were expected to double Russia’s oil and gas revenues in April compared to the same month last year. Russia was expected to pocket $14 billion (1.292 trillion Russian rubles) from oil and gas in April, according to the estimates. That’s double compared to the $7 billion (648 billion rubles) Russia received from oil and gas in April last year.

Russia’s oil and gas revenues slumped by 23.9% last year compared to 2022 as lower oil prices and reduced pipeline gas exports weighed on budget income from fossil fuels, Russian Finance Ministry data showed in early January. 

Banned in the West, Russian crude finds buyers in China and India, while Russian LNG – not sanctioned by the EU or the U.S. – is arriving at European ports, which have increased the intake of LNG cargoes in the past two years, including from Russian LNG export facilities.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Large Crude Inventory Build Rocks Oil Prices
• OPEC Resolves Compensation Plans for Overproducing Members
• ExxonMobil Underwhelms With Q1 Earnings