[Central News Agency] In response to Western countries setting price caps on Russian crude oil to sanction Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia today issued a presidential executive order that will ban the sale of crude oil to countries and companies that support the price cap on Russian oil from February next year.

"Russia prohibits the supply of crude oil and refined products to foreign legal entities and individuals whose contracts directly or indirectly apply price caps," the executive order said.

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The ban on the sale of crude oil will take effect on February 1 next year and will last until July 1.

The Russian government has yet to set an effective date for the ban on sales of refined products such as gasoline and diesel, Reuters reported.

The executive order also said the ban could be exempted in individual cases by a "special decision" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, AFP reported.

The European Union, the Group of Seven (G7) countries and Australia have implemented a price cap of US$60 per barrel on Russian oil since December 5. The EU has also banned the import of Russian oil by sea. The United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and the United States have also made similar commitments. .

$60 a barrel is close to the current price of Russian oil, but well below what Russia has been able to get for many times over the past year.

Windfall revenue from oil sales has helped Moscow offset the impact of financial sanctions it has suffered.

Russia is the world's second largest exporter of crude oil, second only to Saudi Arabia. The disruption of oil supply will have a profound impact on global energy supply.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on the 23rd that Russia may cut oil production by 5% to 7% early next year, that is, it may cut production by 500,000 to 700,000 barrels per day, countering Western countries' regulations on Russian crude oil and refined products. price ceiling.

Despite European efforts to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, there is global demand for Russian energy exports and Moscow has been seeking more buyers, he told Russian state television.

Novak said it would be difficult to secure global economic growth without Russian energy, and expected gas shortages in Europe, which dominates price caps for Gazprom and Russian oil.

The Russian oil price cap sanctions have indeed hit the sales of Russian oil, and export oil is the bulk of Russia's state budget revenue.

Exports of Russia's Urals blend, Rosneft's flagship Baltic port, could have fallen by as much as a fifth in December.

However, Russia said that the cap on Russian oil prices will not affect Moscow's military operations in Ukraine, and Russia is confident that it will find new buyers.

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