Costing a Russian oil supply gap
Analysts see potential for $200/bl+ if it becomes ever more difficult in practice for Western nations to buy crude from Russia
US president Joe Biden may be prepared for Europe not to join his embargo on importing Russian oil. But Shell’s decision to commit to buying no more Russian spot oil and to phase it out of its supply chains entirely over the coming weeks serves as a reminder that—even if countries are not yet officially banning imports from Russia—buying, paying for and securing finance to trade in the country’s oil is already proving challenging in many jurisdictions. When following the US’ lead on Tuesday, the UK government estimated that 70pc of Russian oil was struggling to find a buyer. So it is no surprise that analysts are scrambling to try to put a price on the impact of replumbing the global crude s
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices






