According to Russia, all oil exports impacted by the Western blockade have been diverted.

Despite a fall in oil and gas production this year, Russia has effectively rerouted all of its crude oil shipments that were impacted by Western sanctions over Ukraine to "friendly" nations, according to Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov on Tuesday.

The West implemented extensive sanctions after Moscow moved its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022, including a prohibition on seaborne imports of Russian oil.

"I can say today that we have managed to completely redirect the entire volume of exports affected by the embargo. There was no decrease in sales,"  Shulginov said at an energy forum.

Shulginov reaffirmed that there will be a fall in Russian oil and gas production in 2023 as a result of Western sanctions and a dearth of European customers.

The Head of Russia's largest oil company, Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), Alexander Dyukov, stated at the same occasion that 2023 would be more challenging than 2022 and that sanctions pressure will increase.

According to Shulginov, Russia has been seeking to divert its oil and oil product exports from its traditional customers in Europe to Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

In March, India was the country that purchased the most Russian Urals grade crude. India is expected to receive more than 50% of all seaborne Urals exports this month, with China coming in second.

Alexander Novak, the deputy prime minister, claimed that last year saw a 22-fold increase in Russian oil sales to India, but he did not provide specific sales figures.

According to Novak, energy revenues made up 42% of Russia's government budget in 2022, an increase from 36% in 2021. Despite the difficulties posed by Western sanctions, he claimed that Russia's energy sector was resilient.

Putin said that Russia will continue to build the insurance tools required to support this trade and would concentrate on increasing energy exports to ostensibly "friendly" nations.

By fLEXI tEAM