Posted on 10/17/2023 7:14:46 AM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
Russian oil industry is imploding because of the decline of the ruble, and Putin’s policies to mask the effects from his public.
Joe Blogs on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxUeu2qfrKM ) lays out a persuasive case that the impact of sanctions, importantly through the weakening of the ruble, is inflicting massive damage to the Russian oil industry. The self-imposed export ban on refined products is now about a month old, and indicates an economic disaster.
The biggest single industry in Russia is petroleum refining. They have 44 Mega-refineries, with about half of them currently offline (far from normal).
From six months ago, the international price of crude has increased significantly in dollars, while the value of the ruble has dropped about a third. Net, it has resulted in about double the price in rubles - if there was a free market.
Instead, the Putin regime has imposed domestic price controls, that requires refiners to sell their products domestically about 25% cheaper than six months ago. So every refinery and smuggler wants to sell what product they can outside of Russia - but the Government has imposed an export ban, that has filled storage to capacity and and is just burning their potential revenue.
Winter is coming, and with it the potential for widespread freezing damage to idle oil infrastructure, as happened after the fall of the Soviet Union.
What's amazing to me is how anyone could boast about this.
“My guess is ruzzia will deploy their attack helicopters and CAS aircraft back to ruzzian bases.”
That is how they reacted to HIMARS.
They can get into their operational aircraft and fly away pretty quickly, but moving all their equipment, supplies and support personnel is going to be a nut roll for them for a while.
Russia’s “red line”
...is becoming a joke.
I guess they will become more desperate over the next year or so , as the walls start to close in on them, in earnest.
De Facto nationalization of the Russian oil industry has occurred.
Big new taxes on profits were imposed in recent months. The Government fixes prices for the domestic market, and harshly controls what can be sold abroad (sweeping export bans). The Government now forcibly requires that the bulk of foreign hard currency earnings (total income, before profit) be converted into rubles.
Welcome to Novo North Korea, emerging as we speak.
Which is what I expect they will do.
I hope UKF will attack the aircraft parked in ruzzia using S-200 missiles.
My guess is F-16s arriving in Ukraine will be the pacing event.
Release the Falcons!
I read an X post that indicated F-16 training is going better than expected. If I find it, I will post to this thread.
“Release the Falcons!”
First class for Ukrainian F-16 pilots to start this week at a Reserve base near Tucson.
They have finished their language training, and their flight training may be accelerated.
- landed on the island;
- lost all his brothers-in-arms, weapons and boat;
- began to look for the way home in a panic;
- ran and crawled in agony for about an hour;
- eventually died from wounds
and no one will remember about him, simply because they are sent to the islands “on their last journey”
Russian, you shouldn't come here"
https://twitter.com/PStyle0ne1/status/1714348952575672346
My guess is that either the US anticipates less tightness in oil supplies, or there is a more urgent need to apply pressure, but price cap sanctions have just begun to be enforced (maybe the bureaucracy has just finally gotten around to it):
Russian Oil Shipping Rates Jump As The U.S. Sanctions Price Cap Evaders (17 Oct)
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russian-Oil-Shipping-Rates-Jump-As-The-US-Sanctions-Price-Cap-Evaders.html
‘Shipping rates for transporting Russian crude have surged since last week after the U.S. took a tougher stance on sanctions for vessels carrying Russia’s oil above the G7 price cap, traders have told Reuters.
Last week, the United States took a tougher stance on the Western sanctions against Russia.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed last Thursday sanctions on two entities and identified as blocked property two vessels that used Price Cap Coalition service providers while carrying Russian crude oil above the Coalition-agreed price cap...
...Thursday’s sanction move was the first time the U.S. had imposed sanctions for a breach of the price cap...
...As the sanctions spooked more tanker owners that abandoned the market of shipping Russian crude, the freight rates for transporting Russia’s oil from its Baltic Sea ports to India have surged by 50% in just a few days, the trading sources told Reuters.
“Freight rates rose to some $7.5 million per voyage on Monday from $4.5 million-4.8 million last week,” one source with a trading firm involved in Russian oil sales told Reuters.
Some shipowners have already exited Russian trades but the U.S. sanctions enforcement prompted more companies to quit the Russian oil sales market, the source added.”
Would be very curious to see the hours and maintenance schedule on their aircraft and rotary assets.
Sounds like they are flying a lot of CAP, and the longer they have to fly to reach their target location, and the degrading of assets capable of flying should start if not already showing, increased accidents due to maintenance issues
Then there is the question of trained and capable aircrew
Doesn’t surprise me, imagine some of these pilots can teach the west a few things as well
This seemingly pervasive idea that Ukrainians are dump, well after average 1 1/2 years, that should have been put to rest
Probably a political decision
—
Putin’s desire, according to some Russian Telegram channels
Now, go away kid, ya bothering me.
“Here’s why the US doesn’t have to pay off its $31 trillion mountain of debt, according to Paul Krugman”
“Another video of the launch of two ATACMS.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714365788268765487
“Footage of ATACMS launches in Ukraine towards Russian positions, shared by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhnyi.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714349585542381575
“The White House confirms that the M39 variant of the ATACMS has been provided, but not the 300km range versions.”
https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1714354921925963902
“US officials secretly approved sending ATACMS (APAM) in the package of aid announced Sept. 21, under the category of cluster munitions. The US administration briefed a number of members of Congress in a classified setting in order to prevent leaks.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714343822845411627
Less than a dozen?
Or maybe a ruse so the RuZZians don’t move assets farther away.
“The US so far has shipped less than a dozen ATACMS to Ukraine, AP writes based on US officials that spoke on the condition of anonymity. Wether this is part of a larger batch is unknown.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714355021721030849
5 fired so far
“Another two ATACMS missiles fired. This makes 5 missiles.
It will be interesting to see the full extent of the damage that barrage has caused and whether the Berdyansk airfield has been the only target.”
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1714374364680896996
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