US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale Adeyemo, during the Aspen Institute security forum, revealed the timing of the introduction of a mechanism for limiting prices for Russian oil. He expressed hope that the mechanism will start working at the end of 2022, when the oil embargo will come into force in Europe, and a ban will be introduced on the insurance of ships carrying Russian oil. The words of an American official are quoted by Reuters.

“We follow the Europeans in this matter. They introduced the idea of ​​price caps, in addition to having an insurance ban in place by December. At this point, we intend to increase pressure and introduce a price cap mechanism that will reduce the cost of Russian energy resources and world oil prices,” Adeyemo said, noting that the ceiling would also be beneficial for Russia, since it will still be able to earn on its oil.

American optimism is not shared in Moscow. The day before, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak threatened that Russia would simply stop oil supplies if it would be unprofitable for Russia. “If these prices, which they are talking about, are lower than the costs for oil production, naturally, Russia will not ensure the supply of this oil to world markets, which means that we simply will not work at a loss,” Novak said .

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not at all agree with the forecasts of the American side that the introduction of marginal prices for Russian oil will help reduce oil prices in the world. On the contrary, he is convinced that this decision will lead to a sharp rise in energy prices.

The European Union, the G7 countries and the US are currently exploring options to cut Russia's oil revenues. The United States is actively lobbying for the introduction of a ceiling on oil prices - by introducing a ban on insurance of ships with Russian oil, Western countries want to limit supplies at high prices. The tanker insurance market is almost completely controlled by American, British and European companies.

The introduction of a single price ceiling for them can indeed lead to a reduction in prices specifically for Russian supplies. Representatives of Western countries are consulting, including with the main consumers of Russian oil - India and China, in order to reach their agreement in principle to participate in the new mechanism. World oil prices continue to trade near multi-year highs, Brent is trading around $106 per barrel. After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is forced to sell its oil at deep discounts, currently ranging from $30 to $40 per barrel.

Western countries are considering introducing a cap on Russian oil in the range of $40-60 a barrel. The cost of oil production in Russia, depending on the project, was estimated by the Ministry of Energy at $15-45 per barrel. The US is sure that Russia will not be able to completely refuse oil supplies, because this will destroy the Russian oil industry, which simply does not have the technical ability to stop production.