US, UK unveil widespread sanctions against Russia's energy sector

Listen to article

WASHINGTON:

The United States and Britain on Friday announced sanctions against Russia's energy sector, including oil giant Gazprom Neft, just days before outgoing President Joe Biden leaves office.

The US Treasury Department said it was designating more than 180 ships as well as Russian oil majors Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, fulfilling "the G7 commitment to reduce Russian revenues from energy."

At the same time, the UK government announced sanctions against the two companies, saying their profits were "lining (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war chest and facilitating the war" in Ukraine.

"Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia's war chest -- and every ruble we take from Putin's hands helps save Ukrainian lives," UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

Gazprom Neft slammed the sanctions as "baseless" and "illegitimate," Russian state news agencies reported.

"Gazprom Neft considers the decision to include its assets on the sanctions list as baseless, illegitimate and contrary to the principles of free competition," Russian state news agencies quoted a company representative as saying.

Oil prices rose on the news, with a barrel of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in March rising 2.5 percent, to $78.87, at around 11:40 am in Washington (1640 GMT).

Asked earlier Friday about possible fresh sanctions against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Biden administration was trying "to leave (incoming US President Donald) Trump as heavy a legacy as possible."

In total, the United States is sanctioning 183 oil-carrying vessels, Russian oil traders and oilfield providers, the two Russian oil majors and more than two dozen of their subsidiaries, according to the Treasury Department.

"Today, the United States imposed the most significant sanctions yet on Russia's energy sector, by far the largest source of revenue for Putin's war," Daleep Singh, the Biden administration's deputy national security advisor for international economics, said in a statement.