Russia and Iran, under tremendous pressure from sanctions, are turning toward each other—and they’re both looking eastward, too.

Countries led by Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark are calling for a cautious approach, while a group including Belgium, Italy, Greece and Poland is pushing for a more aggressive tool to contain gas prices.

Seaborne exports of Russian crude averaged 3.07 million b/d in November, down from 3.09 million b/d in October and just below the pre-war average of 3.1 million b/d in January and February.

Russia gradually choked its gas supply to Europe through 2022, ending deliveries via Yamal-Europe and Nord Stream, and sharply cutting exports via Ukraine.

Russia is traditionally among the world’s top three coal exporters, though the industry accounts for just a sliver of the Russian economy.

In June the EU announced that, come December 5th, it would ban imports of Russian seaborne crude oil, which accounted for 2m barrels per day (b/d), or about 40% of Russia’s total crude exports, a year ago.

Failure to reach a deal would send a signal that the EU’s united response to the war-driven energy crisis is falling apart -- a political gift for Moscow that Europe is keen to avoid.

С обеих сторон дана положительная оценка совместной с участием России и Ирака работе в рамках «ОПЕК плюс», позволяющей обеспечивать стабильность мирового нефтяного рынка.

Exceptionally mild weather across Northwest Europe since October has led to a sharp drop in gas prices from record levels over the summer.

Meanwhile, the European Union is continuing talks about ways to limit spikes in gas prices ahead of a meeting of energy ministers next week.

Benchmark gas futures settled 9.2% higher, following an increase of 16% on Monday. Freeport LNG in Texas will likely extend an outage that began in June, increasing global competition for much-needed supplies right before the winter.

Currently, Rosatom fuel company TVEL supplies fuel for Loviisa’s two VVER 440 reactors.

China and India remain the main destination for Russian crudes in the wake of the Ukraine war, accounting for 58% of all seaborne Russian crude exports in October.

Risks over existing gas supplies from Russia will continue through the coming months, with just one pipeline route open to the biggest European customers.

Currently, the most expensive form of generation -- gas -- sets the price for all electricity that’s sold into the market. That means consumers are bearing the brunt of Russia’s supply cuts to the continent. It also means Europe isn’t feeling much of the benefit of low-cost renewables like wind farms, which get to sell at big margins.