Russia’s Urals Oil Crashes to 2.5-Year Low as Global Buyers Pull Back Ahead of US Sanctions

Russia’s flagship Urals crude has fallen to its lowest price in more than two and a half years, just days before sweeping US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil—the country’s two largest oil producers—come into force, Bloomberg reported on November 17.

According to Argus Media data cited by Bloomberg, Urals from Novorossiysk dropped to $36.61 a barrel on November 13, the weakest level since March 2023. Similar declines were recorded at Baltic Sea ports.

Although prices edged up on November 14, the overall trend is severe: Urals is now trading at an average discount of $23.52 per barrel to Brent , the widest gap since June 2023.

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The price plunge comes as international buyers retreat from Russian crude ahead of the November 21 sanctions deadline, introduced by the US President Donald Trump’s administration on October 22, Bloomberg wrote.

Refiners in China, India and Turkey—the main lifeline markets for Russia since 2022—have already halted or reduced purchases and begun sourcing replacements.

The deepening discount shows growing caution among traders, who risk secondary sanctions for handling Russian cargoes. Even after reaching Asia, Urals remains several dollars cheaper than Brent, not including delivery costs.

With oil and gas revenues making up roughly a quarter of Russia’s state budget, the slump will squeeze the finances of Russian oil companies and cut tax inflows to the Kremlin—directly affecting Moscow’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.

Previously, new satellite imagery confirmed that a Ukrainian overnight strike on the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk disabled critical export infrastructure, halting crude shipments from one of Russia’s largest Black Sea hubs.

Satellite photographs show extensive damage to key loading and pumping systems at the Sheskharis facility, a terminal that handles millions of tons of Russian crude and petroleum products every month.

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