The new package of EU sanctions turned out to be not as large-scale as expected. A ban on the provision of services for the transportation of Russian oil has not yet been introduced, but the basis for making this decision has been prepared. And in addition to restrictions on LNG transshipment, from 2027 it is planned to prohibit the provision of LNG terminal services to Russian companies, due to which the Belgian Fluxys LNG may terminate the contract with Yamal LNG for the terminal in Zeebrugge.
The EU, as part of the 20th package of sanctions, introduced new restrictions against the Russian oil industry, the LNG market, and also banned the import of platinum, copper, nickel, aluminum products, molybdenum and cobalt, as follows from the publication on April 23 EU Council Regulations.
There is no announced ban on the provision of services for the transportation of Russian oil in the new package. But the EU council said the package of measures included “a framework for a future ban” that would be carried out in coordination with the G7. As stated in the regulations, it is advisable to make changes to the price ceiling for Russian oil and petroleum products. It is assumed that new restrictions will be introduced at the proposal of the EU representative for foreign affairs. “This will allow alliance members to quickly block maritime logistics of Russian oil in the event of a change in the parameters of the price ceiling,” the document says.
The EU considered a ban on servicing maritime transport of Russian oil as an alternative to the price ceiling mechanism, Kpler noted.
Today, if the cost of raw materials does not exceed the maximum value, companies from the EU and G7 countries can participate in the transportation of oil from the Russian Federation. From February 1, the EU and Great Britain lowered the limit to $44.1 per barrel compared to the previously effective $47.6 per barrel. The price ceiling must be reviewed every six months to remain at 15% below the market average.
As reported by S&P Global, the desire for full support from the G7 may delay the decision on a ban on the provision of services for the transportation of Russian oil for several months. Representatives of large shipping economies – Malta and Greece, as well as Hungary and Slovakia – opposed it, analysts pointed out.
In March, G7-affiliated tankers accounted for 20.3% of Russia’s 3.4 million bpd of oil exports, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea and the Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite. This is down from 29.2% in February and the lowest level in ten months. G7-linked tankers are cutting back on shipments of Russian raw materials due to rising prices following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
- The EU sanctions included Bashneft (the largest shareholder is Rosneft), Slavneft (owned by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft), the ports of Primorsk and Tuapse, as well as 12 oil refineries in Russia, including LUKOIL.
- Another 46 vessels were banned from entering ports and maritime services; a total of 632 tankers are now on the blacklist.
- The EU has also imposed restrictions on the sale of tankers from EU countries to prevent their end use by Russia, the document shows. Now European countries are required to provide documents on the sale of tankers “not for the Russian Federation.”
- In addition, the ports of Murmansk and Karimun in Indonesia fell under European restrictions.
As reported Reutersin 2025, Karimun became one of the main transshipment points for Russian petroleum products, which were then exported to Malaysia, Singapore and China. In December, the volume of supplies was estimated at 300 thousand tons.
General Director of the Open Oil Market Sergei Tereshkin says that tankers registered outside the EU and the largest OECD countries will most likely now play an even greater role in the transportation of raw materials from the Russian Federation. Reducing re-exports through the Karimun terminal carries risks, but most likely another similar location will be found, he adds. In general, he said, the main impact of the current package of sanctions will be an increase in logistics costs. At the same time, the expert adds, unlike the United States, the EU does not have an apparatus for monitoring previously introduced restrictions.
Regarding LNG, the EU intends to introduce a ban on providing LNG terminal services to Russian companies from January 1, 2027. The European Commission believes that this ban is an automatic basis for operators of LNG terminals in the EU to terminate long-term contracts with Russian companies. Verba Legal advisor Marat Samarsky says that common foreign and security policy is a priority over other areas of law. “We have seen this from old cases and relatively recent ones, where the court justified the emergency imposition of sanctions without checking the grounds by some urgency of effectiveness,” he notes.
LNG terminal services include, in particular, unloading, storage, dispatch, mooring, regasification, liquefaction, loading into tank trucks, LNG bunkering, including temporary storage, and so on. The Yamal LNG plant (50.1% from NOVATEK, 20% from TotalEnergies) has a 20-year agreement with the Belgian Fluxys LNG to use the tank for LNG transshipment at the terminal in Zeebrugge. Since April 2025, a ban on the re-export of Russian LNG to third countries began to apply in EU ports, after which Russia increased supplies to the European market.
The new sanctions also impose a ban on services – technical, financial or brokerage – to Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers starting April 25, 2026.
As reported, from January 1, a ban on the supply of LNG to the EU under long-term contracts will come into effect, and under short-term contracts – from April 25, 2026. Due to the conflict in the Middle East, there have been isolated calls from European businesses to review this ban. Thus, the CEO of the Italian Eni group Claudio Descalzi said that it is not yet clear how the block will be able to compensate for the loss of about 20 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG. However, the European Commission has so far stated that it will remain with its previous intentions. The day before, European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said that the EU would not abandon its plans to refuse to purchase any Russian energy, as this would be a “huge mistake.”
Analysts did not expect a significant impact of new restrictions on metal supplies to Russia (see “Kommersant” dated February 9). Thus, Norilsk Nickel reported in its 2024 reporting that it had redistributed a significant portion of its sales of copper, nickel and precious metals from Europe primarily to the markets of Asia and Russia.
