The measure could cause supply disruptions, the country’s energy minister warns
The Western price ceiling on Russian oil will spark uncertainty and disrupt global trade flows, the Algerian energy minister warned on Wednesday.
The OPEC+ decision to cut output by 2 million barrels per day last November was designed to bring stability to global oil markets, Mohamed Arkab noted in an interview with information company Energy Intelligence. The official said unilateral actions by the West to limit the price of crude could undermine the efforts of the oil producers' alliance, and bring more uncertainty to the sector.
Western sanctions on Russian seaborne crude took effect last December. They ban tankers that fly the flag of any EU member state from carrying crude originating in Russia, unless it is sold to the buyer at or under an agreed price of $60 per barrel.
A similar embargo accompanied by price caps was imposed on Russian refined petroleum products in February. In response, Moscow banned sales of its crude and petroleum products to nations supporting the scheme.
Saudi Arabia threatens oil embargoREAD MORE: Saudi Arabia threatens oil embargo
The Algerian minister’s remarks echoed a recent warning from Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
“If a price cap were to be imposed on Saudi oil exports, we will not sell oil to any country that imposes a price cap on our supply, and we will reduce oil production, and I would not be surprised if others do the same,” bin Salman told Energy Intelligence on Tuesday.
In February, Russia announced plans to voluntarily reduce oil production in March by 500,000 barrels per day, as it halts sales to buyers that comply with the Western-imposed price ceiling.
A number of economists have repeatedly warned that Western sanctions on Russian crude will only further tighten global supplies.
Algeria has been an OPEC member since 1969. The North African country has the tenth-largest proven natural gas reserves globally, and is the world’s fourth-largest gas exporter, with major pipeline links to Europe. It also ranks 16th in proven oil reserves, and exports roughly 60% of its total production.
https://www.rt.com/africa/573069-algeria-western-oil-price-cap-russia/
China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth ...
The Israeli regime has reportedly signed contracts worth millions of dollars in recent months to sway American public opinion as part of attempts to launder the occupying entity’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that the multimillion-dollar campaign aimed to reshape US public opinion, both online and offline, through coordinated influence operations combining digital marketing, AI, geotagging, and religious messaging.
The contracts, signed between the Israeli regime and firms linked to US President Donald Trump, reveal a “hasbara [propaganda] campaign” and schemes to target millions of US churchgoers, deploy bots, hire influencers, and try to make ChatGPT more pro-Israel.
The largest contract, worth $6 million, was signed with Clock Tower X, owned by Trump’s former digital campaign chief Brad Parscale, to produce and distribute roughly 100 core pieces of pro-Israel content per month and thousands......
