Russia says it's going to make 'significantly' more profits from energy exports this year as prices have jumped on policies from the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime has been holding up so far as oil prices have risen about 50% this year.

Alexei Nikolsky/Reuters

• Russia said it expects "significantly" more profits from its energy exports this year.
• The country has been hit with sweeping international sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
• Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has alternative markets for its oil products.

Russia said it is expecting a jump in profits from energy exports this year amid a surge in prices.

"Considering the price level that has been established as a result of the West's policies, we have suffered no budgetary losses," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Bosnian Serb TV station on Saturday, according to an official transcript.

"On the contrary, this year we will significantly increase the profits from the export of our energy resources," Lavrov continued, per a Reuters translation.

Russia has been hit with intensifying sanctions ever since it invaded Ukraine — but Moscow could still rake in $800 million a day from oil and gas revenues this year amid soaring energy prices, according to a Bloomberg Economics report last week. The gains in energy prices could bring Russia's oil and gas sales to total $285 billion this year, Bloomberg forecasts. That's 20% higher than the country's $235.6 billion takings from oil and gas in 2021.

President Vladimir Putin's regime has been holding up so far as oil prices have risen about 50% this year and are trading at 13-year highs due to tight supplies that predated the war, and a strong recovery in demand as the pandemic eases. The war in Ukraine adds to supply concerns as heavily sanctioned Russia is a major energy producer.

On May 30, the EU agreed to slash 90% of Russian oil imports to the bloc by the end of 2022 — but some countries in the group, including Germany, Europe's largest economy, continue to be heavily dependent on Russian gas.

Countries like China and India are also buying discounted Russian oil, further undermining international sanctions.

"Oil, generally speaking, is not subject to politics, there is a demand for it ... we have alternative sales markets, where we are already increasing sales," said Lavrov, per Reuters.

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