
<p>The propaganda effect of this is huge, the EU has announced, in an emergency session, a ban on Russian Oil. </p>



<p>But not really. They have agreed to ban the import of Russian oil that comes in by sea, which is about 2/3 of their oil. They will not ban what comes through the pipelines.</p>



<p>Next, they say they &#8220;effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.&#8221; </p>



<p>OK, so they are banning Russian oil to remove funding for the war in Ukraine, but they won&#8217;t do it until the end of the year, which is likely to be long after the war is over. And of course, when the war is over they don&#8217;t have to do it anymore.</p>



<p>Europe imports about 2.4 million barrels of oil from Russia per day, which is valued at $288 million per day. Cutting either 2/3 or 90% (depending on who you believe) would indeed be a substantial hit to Russia&#8217;s cash flow.</p>



<p>But I&#8217;m calling b<em>&;^s</em>&;t on this.</p>



<p>First of all, Europe will have to replace about 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.</p>



<p>Where will this come from? The U.S. doesn&#8217;t have it, Joe Biden has been steadily cutting our oil production. Saudi Arabia has declined to participate. They are happy with the new prices and a want a stable market at the new price. More production on their part would bring the price down.</p>



<p>Hopefully, Biden isn&#8217;t stupid enough to make deals with Venezuela or Iran. That would collapse any chance of reform in those countries.</p>



<p>If this does indeed happen, PB contributor George McMillan suggests that this will become a simple &#8220;laundering&#8221; scheme. That Russian oil will arrive at some intermediate location, and Europe will simply buy it from there.</p>



<p>And by the way, you don&#8217;t see them banning Russian natural gas yet, which is far more important to them. </p>



<p>As you can see in the chart below, the European Union countries averages 57% dependence on outside sources. A real, actual ban on Russian energy would cripple the EU, shut down their major industries and have people freezing come next Fall and Winter.</p>



<p>Bottom line, the EU has written a check that will likely never have to be cashed, and that will likely bounce if they try.</p>



<p>I realize the EU has to appease the protesters and keep the appearances up on supporting Ukraine, but I find their posturing and propaganda plays distasteful.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://theuglyminute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image-92.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4442" width="884" height="1484"/></figure>

European Union to Ban Russian Oil – But Wait…
