- Researchers found Russian oil exporters are selling oil above a price cap set by Western countries.
- The European Union banned seaborne imports of Russian crude oil in December 2022.
Russian oil companies made more money than previously thought after Western countries imposed an oil price cap on the country in December, according to a group of researchers.
"We find that Russia was able to redirect crude oil exports from Europe to alternative markets such as India, China, and Turkey," according to the report from researchers at Columbia University, the Institute of International Finance, University of California, Los Angles, and IE University.
The report noted that oil export earnings were still "curbed substantially" by the discounts that Russian oil exporters "had to accept in market segments where the impeding EU embargo lowered demand."
Western countries set a price cap of $60 on Russian oil on December 5, 2022, the same day that the European Union banned seaborne imports of Russian crude oil and barred European companies from insuring Russian oil shipments. Oil historian Gregory Brew previously told Insider that China, India, and other countries in Asia would not feel obligated to commit to the price cap at the time.
The researchers recommended that the EU not lift its sanctions on Russia going forward because they are "critical" to keeping Russian oil prices discounted.
"Most importantly, our findings suggest that going forward, the enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil exports is critical — including ensuring compliance with price cap-related restrictions on shipping, maritime insurance, and other services," the report read.
The authors of the report recommended that sanctions be strictly enforced moving forward and called for "further investigation" of Russian oil transactions.
"Moreover, our surprising finding of a significant share of Russian crude oil being sold well-above the price cap level of $60/barrel urgently calls for further investigation of these transactions and reinforces the need for stepped-up enforcement," the report read.