Russia’s Energy Ministry to Draft Measures to Mitigate Effects of Sanctions Soon

MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) — Russian Energy Ministry plans to draft an array of measures intended to mitigate effects of Western sanctions in Russia’s energy sector, the ministry said in a statement Friday.

«Additional measures to strengthen the Russian energy sector will be prepared soon, including import substitution for equipment that falls under the sanctions," the statement reads.

Last week, the European Union banned its producers from exporting to Russia technologies and equipment linked to deep water and Arctic oil exploration and production, as well as to shale-oil projects. The United States also introduced sanctions banning future contracts on supplying Russia with technologies and equipment used for hydrocarbon development.

Analysts surveyed by RIA Novosti said the bans may reflect negatively on Russia's Arctic shelf exploration, and may halt the joint project between Russia’s oil giant Rosneft and Texas-based ExxonMobil Corporation.

In mid-August, Rosneft and ExxonMobil were due to start drilling in the Kara Sea off Russia’s northern coast, and the new sanctions require drilling equipment producers to obtain a permit from the United States or the European Union to trade with Russia.

Rosneft has proposed to the country’s government to amend its corporate purchases law or scrap import duties on drilling equipment in the wake of the recent Western sanctions.

The United States, the European Union and ally countries have introduced several rounds of targeted sanctions against Russian companies and individuals since Crimea’s reunification with Russia in March.

Moscow stressed that Russia was never involved in the Ukrainian conflict and retaliated with a blanket ban on food imports from the European Union, sending anxiety ripples across the EU market, notably in Lithuania, whose revenues from exports to Russia are equivalent to 2.5 percent of its GDP. The United States, Australia, Canada, and Norway are also on the Russian blacklist.

Moscow previously said it was ready to review the terms of its import restrictions if its Western partners showed a commitment to dialogue.