From "The Analyst":
MORE ECONOMIC BAD NEWS FOR RUSSIA
US sanctions on banks and financial institutions, as well as oil origination clarifications (where oil from Russia is imported then re-sold as someone else’s), have continued to ramp up. More and more loop holes have been tightened or closed completely.
With oil generally paid for in USD, Turkey has been purchasing as much as $2 billion a month in refined Russian oil products.
However they have been selling much of it to European nations through the port of Dortyol, saying that the refined product came from somewhere - anywhere - other than Russia.
Evasion tactics such as lying about the amount paid, masked in origin, re-routing and transfers at sea, have all seen huge reductions. US sanctions have been highly targeted at individuals, companies, ports and ships.
As a result the entire Port of Dortyol, run by GTS has said it will it will no longer accept oil from Russia.
Turkish banks have also started to face huge problems paying Russia or even getting paid from Russia. They risk being cut out of the payments systems and blocked from international currencies - so they have had to stop servicing Russian money.
Turkish banks and their customer cannot get paid for the illicit goods they are selling to Russia, and much the same is happening in that other Russian favourite, the UAE. India too, is not immune.
Russian exports to Asia have fallen from 3.5mbpd to 2.8mbpd.
As a result with nowhere to store the oil, Russia has announced it’s cutting its output by another 1mbpd.
Moscow however has found a way around this at least for now, in terms of income. They are charging higher taxes to the oil companies inside Russia - meaning they’re already close to barely breaking even and are closer to loosing money. The oil
oligarchs are basically footing the bill.
Politicians may want to trade with Russia, but their corporate entities don’t intend to. Any sanction on them will kill their business, a risk they won’t take.
India especially is terrified of sanctions and has now virtually cut itself off from Russian
oil.
So overall it’s bad news for Russia’s flagging economy. Everywhere it turns it’s reaching the bottom of the barrel.