Putin says Russian gas must be paid in for in Rubles

  Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he had signed a decree saying foreign

  buyers must pay in rubles for Russian gas from April 1, and contracts would be halted if these payments

  were not made. 

  “In order to purchase Russian natural gas, they must open ruble accounts in Russian banks. It is from

  these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow,” Putin said in

  televised remarks. 

  “If such payments are not made, we will consider this a default on the part of buyers, with all the

  ensuing consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity

  either — that is, existing contracts will be stopped.” 

  Putin’s decision to enforce ruble payments for gas has boosted the Russian currency, which fell to

  historic lows when the West applied sweeping sanctions after he sent his army into Ukraine on

  Feb. 24. 

  But Western companies and governments have rejected the move as a breach of existing

  contracts, which are set in euros or dollars. 

  Putin said the switch was meant to strengthen Russia’s sovereignty, and it would stick to its obligations

  on all contracts. Russia supplies about a third of Europe’s gas. 

  Source: CNBC

  Biden spurs record emergency oil release in
 'moment of peril' for world 

  President Joe Biden on Thursday launched the largest release ever from the U.S. emergency oil

  reserve and challenged oil companies to drill more in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices that

  have soared during Russia's war with Ukraine. 

  The announcement comes as part of a broad effort by Biden to tackle raging inflation that has hurt

  U.S. consumers and threatens Biden's fellow Democrats as they seek to maintain control of

  Congress in the November elections. 

  Starting in May, the United States will release 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil for six months

  from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), he said. 

  "This is a moment of consequence and peril for the world, and pain at the pump for American families,”

  Biden said at an event at the White House. 

  "It's also a moment of patriotism," Biden said, as he asked oil company executives to serve their

  customers and American families, instead of the investors they have rewarded with billions of dollars

  in dividends. 

  He also called on Congress to make companies pay a fee if they are sitting thousands of unused oil and

  gas leases and wells on public lands. 

  Biden's 180-million barrel release is equivalent to about two days of global demand, and marks the

  third time Washington has tapped the SPR in the past six months. 

  It will more than cover oil exports to the United States from Russia, which Biden banned this

  month. Russia typically produces about 10% of the world's crude, but only accounts for 8% of U.S.

  liquid fuel imports. 

  But the release will fall short of a loss of about 3 million bpd of Russian oil which the International

  Energy Agency estimates will be lost to global markets amid Western sanctions and as global buyers

  avoid the oil. 

  Biden also called on U.S. oil companies to drill more, and for boosts in production of electric vehicles

  and batteries. 

  The Biden administration has worked with allies in the IEA in recent weeks to coordinate releases

  which will bring the total volume to global markets to well over 1 million barrels per day, the official

  said. 

  He estimated that the release could push down U.S. gasoline prices anywhere from 10 cents to

  35 cents per gallon, depending on how much allies and partners let go from their reserves. Biden said

  U.S. allies and partners could release an additional 30 million to 50 million barrels. 

  The IEA, a watchdog representing industrialized nations including the United States, but not Russia,

  meets on Friday when it may announce a release. The group presided over its fourth coordinated oil

  release on March 1 of over 60 million barrels of crude – its largest yet. The U.S. portion of the release

  was about half of that. 

  U.S. crude oil prices plunged 7% on the news of the latest SPR draw, even as OPEC+, a production

  group including Saudi Arabia and Russia, stuck to a modest deal to slowly ramp up output. 

  'USE IT OR LOSE IT' 

  The Biden administration has long said that energy companies are sitting on thousands of unused

  leases and are slow to open the spigot. Biden called for a "use it or lose it" policy that will seek to

  push oil companies to take advantage of unused oil leasing permits. 

  "This is not the time to sit on record profits, it is time to step up" for the good of your country," Biden

  urged oil executives. 

  Oil companies say they like to have a deep inventory of permits to give them flexibility on future

  planning and that labor and logistical constraints can be a headwind in using them. 

  The American Petroleum Institute, the sector's main lobbying group, said the SPR tap could provide

  some near term supply relief, but was not a long term solution. 

  "Instead of managing from crisis to crisis, we should be focused on promoting policies that avoid

  them altogether through increased production of our nation’s domestic energy resources,” said

  Frank Macchiarola, an API official, 

  Biden also invoked the Defense Production Act to support the production and processing of

  minerals and materials used for large capacity batteries used in electric vehicles - such as

  lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese. He also called on Congress to pass his climate

  plan so the country can eventually move beyond fossil fuels. 

  Source: Reuters 

  Price of Pertamax fuel increased, Pertalite remains 

  State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) officially raised the price of Pertamax

  (the company's brand of gasoline) to Rp 12,500 from Rp 9,000 per liters. The subsidized gasoline

  price remains at Rp 7,650 per liter.  

  The price increase will become effective starting on Friday (April 4, 2022). Pertamina said the new

  pricing was still more competitive compared to other brands in the market. 

  “Pertamina always considers the purchasing power of the people. This decision has only now been

  taken in the last three years,” said the company’s acting Corporate Secretary Irto Ginting in a written

  press statement on Thursday (March 31, 2022). 

  The decision to increase the price was taken to adjust with surging global oil prices of over US$100

  per barrel. The move was done to protect the company’s cashflow. 

  The increase was done selectively to non-subsidized fuel consumed by 17% of the people. Irto said

  the new prices was still far below the market price. “We do this so as not to overly burden the

  people,” Irto said. 

  Previously, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources issued a statement saying that the price of

  the high-grade RON 92 fuel could reach as high as Rp 16,000 per liter. 

  The increase could possibly drive consumers to switch to the subsidized Pertalite brand of Gasoline.

  Executive Director of Energy Watch, a Non-Governmental Organization, said as much as 40 percent

  of consumers could switch to using Pertalite if the price of Pertamax goes as high as Rp 15,000 or

  Rp 16,000 per liter. 

  “If it’s below Rp 15,000, then the shift might not be as high. Maybe only 20 percent,” Mamit said in a

  separate interview with Katadata on Thursday (March 31, 2022). 

  Source: Katadata