(Dan Tri) – Russia has successfully avoided the price ceiling imposed by the G7 on most of the country’s oil exports, Financial Times assessed.

Under G7 price ceiling regulations, Western companies are allowed to provide services such as transportation or insurance only if Russian oil is sold for less than 60 USD/barrel (Photo: Getty).

Nearly 75% of all Russian seaborne crude was shipped without Western insurance in August, according to an analysis of shipping and insurance documents by the Financial Times.

Western insurance is a lever for the G7 to impose a ceiling price of 60 USD/barrel on Russian crude oil.

The 75% figure is larger than about 50% in the spring, according to data from freight analytics firm Kpler and insurers.

The Kiev School of Economics (KSE) estimates that a steady rise in crude oil prices since July, combined with Russia’s success in reducing discounts on its own oil, means the country’s oil revenues are

The above is a double blow to the West’s campaign to limit Russia’s oil revenues – which accounts for the largest part of the Kremlin’s budget – after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.

G7 designed a price ceiling of 60 USD/barrel so that this commodity continues to flow into the global market.

Under price caps, Western companies are allowed to provide services such as shipping or insurance only if Russian oil is sold for less than $60 per barrel.

Since Russia still depends on Western services to get oil to market, the G7 calculates that Moscow will have no choice but to comply.

When G7 price caps were first implemented in December 2022, Russian oil initially fell to levels well below international prices, up to $40 per barrel.

Moscow had to cut prices as it tried to change the route and destination of millions of barrels of oil from Europe to new customers in Asia, while still relying heavily on Western shipping services.

Scholars at KSE calculate that sanctions, restrictions and withdrawals from Russia have cost the country $100 billion in lost oil export revenue since February 2022.

However, Russia has built up a shipping fleet of tankers that can operate without Western insurance or other services.

This has allowed Moscow to capture higher oil prices as global markets tighten.

Part of the decline in shipping using Western services may be the result of skepticism on the part of shipowners and insurers, even when they have received so-called `certifications`.