Russia’s federal budget revenues from oil and gas exports significantly decreased in November, falling by 33.8% compared to the same period last year. Compared to October, the decline was 40.3%. For the period from January to November, total revenues from energy sales decreased by 22.4%, amounting to 8 trillion rubles, although the Russian Ministry of Finance had previously expected to receive 10.94 trillion rubles from the oil and gas sector in 2025.
This is reported by Finway
US sanctions threaten the transit of Russian oil to China
An additional risk factor has been the sanctions imposed by the United States on Rosneft. As a result, the pipeline supplies of Russian oil to China through Kazakhstan are now in question. Further actions depend on the decision of the US Department of the Treasury regarding the request from Kazakhstan’s energy ministry for clarification on operating under the new conditions. If the American regulator issues a general license and removes this pipeline from sanctions, supplies will continue. Otherwise, Kazakhstan will face a choice: suspend transit or risk having the operator Kaztransoil fall under secondary sanctions.
“Through the pipeline via Kazakhstan, Rosneft pumps up to 10 million tons of oil to China annually, while Kaztransoil receives $15 for each ton of transit under a contract signed in 2023.”
Despite this, the majority of Russian oil is still imported by China via maritime routes — daily amounts range from 1 to 1.5 million barrels.
Russia will cover the budget deficit by selling foreign currency and gold
The Russian Ministry of Finance expects that in December, revenues from the oil and gas sector will not reach the baseline level of 137.6 billion rubles. To compensate for this deficit, the government plans to carry out large-scale sales of foreign currency and gold from the National Wealth Fund of Russia. It is projected that the volume of such operations in December will exceed current figures by 56 times.