China and India are emerging as Russia’s main crude buyers. Russia’s ESPO blend is especially popular among Asian refiners. Russia’s Urals crude is trading at discounts of more than $30 per barrel. It has been exactly six weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with no end in sight to one of humanity’s biggest existential crises in modern times. In response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war, the United States and the West have hit the rogue nation with a plethora of sanctions, with the latest announced just days ago mostly targeting Russia’s financial sector. But so far, Russia’s pivotal energy sector has largely been spared. With the exception of Lithuania and Poland as well as self-sanctioning by refiners and bankers, no country has yet to announce a ban on Russia’s energy products. So far, Russian oil and gas exports to the EU remain largely unchanged since only the Baltic States […]