Energy
Who’s Still Buying Russian Fossil Fuels in 2023?
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The Countries Buying Fossil Fuels from Russia in 2023
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While Russia’s revenues from fossil fuel exports have declined significantly since their peak in March of 2022, many countries are still importing millions of dollars a day worth of fossil fuels from Russia.
Revenue from fossil fuels exported to the EU has declined more than 90% from their peak, but in 2023 the bloc has still imported more than $18 billion of crude oil and natural gas so far.
This graphic uses data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) to visualize the top-importing countries of fossil fuels from Russia so far this year.
China Remains Russia’s Top Fossil Fuel Importer
China continues to be Russia’s top buyer of fossil fuels, with imports reaching $30 billion in 2023 up until June 16, 2023.
With nearly 80% of China’s fuel imports being crude oil, Russia’s average daily revenues from Chinese fossil fuel imports have declined from $210 million in 2022 to $178 million in 2023 largely due to the falling price of Russian crude oil.
Following China are EU nations collectively, which despite no longer importing coal from Russia since August of 2022, still imported $18.4 billion of fossil fuels in a 60/40 split of crude oil and natural gas respectively.
| Country | Russian Fossil Fuel Imports* (Total) | Crude Oil | Natural Gas | Coal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | $30B | $23.9B | $2.7B | $3.3B | |||||||||
| 🇪🇺 EU | $18.4B | $11.2B | $7.2B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇮🇳 India | $15.2B | $12.8B | $0 | $2.5B | |||||||||
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | $12.1B | $7.3B | $3B | $1.7B | |||||||||
| 🇦🇪 UAE | $2.3B | $2.3B | $0 | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | $2.1B | $0.6B | $0.3B | $1.2B | |||||||||
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | $2.0B | $1.1B | $0.9B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | $1.9B | $0.8B | $1.1B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | $1.9B | $0.5B | $1.4B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇯🇵 Japan | $1.8B | $0 | $1.5B | $0.3B | |||||||||
| 🇪🇸 Spain | $1.7B | $0.6B | $1.1B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | $1.7B | $1.7B | $0 | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | $1.6B | $1.4B | $0 | $0.2B | |||||||||
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $1.6B | $1.5B | $0.1B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $1.5B | $1.4B | $0 | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | $1.4B | $1.3B | $0 | $0.2B | |||||||||
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | $1.3B | $1.1B | $0.3B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇮🇹 Italy | $1.2B | $0.8B | $0.4B | $0 | |||||||||
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | $1.1B | $1.0B | $0 | $0.1B | |||||||||
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | $1.0B | $1.1B | $0 | $0 |
*Over the time period of Jan 1, 2023 to June 16, 2023 in U.S. dollars
After China and the EU bloc, India is the next-largest importer of Russian fossil fuels, having ramped up the amount of fossil fuels imported by more than 10x since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, largely due to discounted Russian oil.
Türkiye is the only other nation to have imported more than $10 billion worth of Russian fossil fuels in 2023, with every other country having imported fewer than $3 billion worth of fuels from Russia this year.
Navigating the Crude Reality of Oil Exports
Although crude oil is Russia’s chief fossil fuel export, the nation’s Urals crude traded at a $20 per barrel discount to Brent crude throughout most of 2023. While this discount has narrowed to around $16 following Russia’s announcement of further oil export cuts of 500,000 bpd (barrels per day), the price of Urals crude oil remains just 40 cents below the $60 price cap put in place by G7 and EU nations.
Alongside Russia, Saudi Arabia also announced it would extend its cut of 1 million bpd until the end of August, with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman commenting on the country’s solidarity with Russia and saying it would do “whatever is necessary” to support the oil market.
While OPEC and OPEC+ nations’ cuts are an attempt at pushing crude oil prices up, increased production from the U.S. has counteracted this. The EIA forecasts 2023 U.S. production to be 12.6 million bpd, surpassing the high in 2019 of 12.3 million bpd.
Strategic Metals
Ranked: The World’s Top Cobalt Producing Countries
Cobalt, an essential component for certain types of EV batteries, has seen a significant shift in its global production landscape.
Ranked: The World’s Top Cobalt Producing Countries
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Cobalt, an essential component of key chemistries of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in EVs, has seen a significant shift in its global production landscape.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has long been the world’s largest cobalt producer, accounting for 73% of global output in 2022.
However, according to the Cobalt Institute, the DRC’s dominance is projected to decrease to 57% by 2030 as Indonesia ramps up its cobalt production as a byproduct from its rapidly expanding nickel industry.
Indonesia Became Second Largest Cobalt Producer in 2022
Indonesia accounts for nearly 5% of global cobalt production today, surpassing established producers like Australia and the Philippines.
In 2022, Indonesia’s cobalt production surged to almost 9,500 tonnes from 2,700 tonnes in 2021, with the potential to increase production by tenfold by 2030.
| Country | 2022 Production (tonnes) | % of Total Production |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇩 DRC | 144,936 | 73.3% |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 9,454 | 4.8% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 7,000 | 3.5% |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | 5,400 | 2.7% |
| 🇨🇺 Cuba | 5,331 | 2.7% |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 3,500 | 1.8% |
| 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 3,500 | 1.8% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 3,100 | 1.6% |
| 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | 3,060 | 1.5% |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 2,300 | 1.2% |
| 🌐 Other | 10,210 | 5.2% |
| Total | 197,791 | 100.0% |
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
In total, global cobalt production reached 197,791 tonnes, with the DRC contributing just under 145,000 tonnes of that mix.
The EV industry is the largest consumer of cobalt, accounting for approximately 40% of total demand. The exponential growth of the EV sector is expected to drive a doubling of global cobalt demand by 2030.
While the shift in cobalt production is notable, it is not without challenges. Plummeting cobalt prices, which fell almost 30% this year to $13.90 a pound, have severely impacted the DRC.
Furthermore, the longer-term prospects of cobalt could face hurdles due to efforts to reduce its use in batteries, partly driven by human rights concerns associated with artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC and related child labor and human rights abuses.
In a 2021 ruling by a federal court in Washington, Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla were relieved from a class action suit claiming their responsibility for alleged child labor in Congolese cobalt mines.
The Future of Cobalt
Despite ongoing efforts to substitute cobalt in battery applications, cobalt is expected to remain a vital raw material for the entire battery supply chain in the near future.
The demand for cobalt is forecasted to more than double by 2030 to 388,000 tonnes.
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