Total Energy CEO Patrick Pouyanne said capping the price of Russian oil — a mechanism that the G7 countries want to cap on Moscow’s revenue — is a “bad idea” that will increase Russian President Vladimir Putin’s control.

“What I’m sure of is that if we do that, Putin will say, ‘We’re not going to sell our oil,’ and the price will not be $95, but $150,” Pouyanne said at the Energy Intelligence Forum held in London. This is not what I would like to offer Vladimir Putin.”

And Agence France-Presse pointed out that “in September, the G7 countries decided “urgently” to set a ceiling on the price of Russian oil, which requires a complex mechanism, in particular, inviting a “broad coalition” of countries to implement it, limit revenues associated with the sale of Russian oil, who finance the invasion of Ukraine.

She pointed out that “Russia specifically will have to sell its oil to these countries at a lower price than it sells today, but it will remain above the price of production, and it will have an economic interest in continuing to sell it to them.” .” India and China, the world’s two largest oil importers, appear to be unwilling to join the G7 at this stage, as both countries benefit greatly from access to Russian oil at cut prices.

In this context, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Alexander Novak criticized this idea, which, in his opinion, “will disrupt market mechanisms and could have an ‘extremely harmful effect’ on global industry.”

Referring to the possibility of an “oil shortage” if the European Union considers such a measure, Novak again warned that Russian companies “will not supply oil to countries using this tool.”

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