OREANDA-NEWS. U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela proved beneficial to Russian oil companies, which from November 2018 to July were able to earn an additional $ 905 million, the American News Agency said, relying on its own calculations. In the absence of two large exporters in the market, they began to buy oil from Russia more often.

According to JBC Energy analyst Constanta Rangelova, OPEC +’s decision to cut production also influenced demand. Against this background, the cost of a barrel of Russian Urals reached its maximum relative to Brent. In particular, demand for Urals increased in the Mediterranean region, where local companies previously preferred to buy oil from Iran.

The United States imposed sanctions against Iran, including the reduction of oil supplies from this country, after withdrawing from a nuclear agreement with Tehran. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in late April that the goal of the Washington administration is to reduce Iranian exports to zero so that the ruling regime in the country doesn't have sources of income.

Sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA were introduced by the American authorities in January. This happened after the opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself president of the country instead of Nicolas Maduro, and the United States recognized him as head of state.

The U.S. administration imposed sanctions against Venezuela at the end of January this year, and tougher sanctions against Iran began in May (entered into force in November 2018, but with exceptions). Thus, the demand for Urals in the Mediterranean region is at its peak throughout history, according to analysts polled by the agency. For this reason, the lack of Iranian and Venezuelan oil in the market brought Russian companies almost $ 1 billion.