Russian state-controlled oil producer Gazprom Neft said it had
received positive responses from Asian clients about the possibility of
using euros as a settlement currency instead of the dollar.
Company head Alexander Dyukov said this week Gazprom Neft had
broached the idea of dropping the dollar, traditionally the currency of
choice for the global energy sector, in response to a possible new round
of Western sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
He said the company had discussed with buyers the possibility of
switching contracts to euros and that 95 percent had said they were
ready to do it. Gazprom Neft ships around 30,000 barrels per day of oil
eastward.
“Gazprom Neft has held discussions with its eastern partners about
the possibility of completing settlements in the European currency.
They, in turn, expressed their potential readiness for this,” the oil
arm of top Russian top natural gas producer Gazprom said in emailed
comments on Thursday.
Three buyers in Japan and China said they had been approached by
Gazprom to settle oil payments in currencies other than the dollar. Two
of the buyers said they were still considering the proposal, while the
third said his company had bought crude using euros before and did not
see it as a problem.
“Switching to euros is not a big deal. The problem is who will bear
the exchange cost,” a trader with a Japanese buyer of Russian Asia-bound
ESPO crude oil blend said.
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