Russia is facing an oil nightmare as a “buyers’ strike” in China, its most crucial market, takes hold. Prices for its ESPO crude have plunged, and 400,000 barrels a day are impacted.
The strike is a direct result of Western sanctions. US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil have forced state-owned Sinopec and PetroChina to retreat. The blacklisting of Yulong Petrochemical has terrified private “teapot” refiners.
This is a clear victory for the Western policy of cutting off Russia’s war funding.
The “strike” is happening in a political vacuum. A high-stakes Trump-Xi summit concluded with a “muddle,” offering no public clarity on the oil issue.
This diplomatic silence, combined with domestic import quota shortages for teapots, has left the market in a state of maximum uncertainty.