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Executive Order 14071 (April 6, 2022) prohibited US persons from providing certain services in connection with Russian energy exports. Sections 1(a)(ii), 1(b), and 5 of EO 14071 delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of State) the power to issue specific determinations defining the scope of prohibited services and the conditions under which they remain permissible.
On December 5, 2022 — the same date as the EU embargo on Russian seaborne crude took effect — Treasury Secretary Yellen issued the determination establishing $60/barrel as the price cap ceiling. OFAC published this determination in the Federal Register on December 27, 2022 (87 FR 79255). The cap price itself was set through a G7+ coalition negotiation (US, EU, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand) aimed at striking a level sufficiently above Russia's marginal production cost (~$20–35/bbl depending on field vintage) to keep supply flowing, while substantially cutting per-barrel revenue relative to then-market prices (~$75–85/bbl at time of announcement).
The six prohibited service categories (trading, financing, shipping, insurance, flagging, customs brokering) cover the end-to-end value chain of maritime crude transport. This made the mechanism self-enforcing through the Western-dominated maritime insurance and P&I club ecosystem: almost all tanker operators carry Lloyd's-adjacent P&I coverage, so uninsured voyages above the cap became commercially unviable without accessing shadow-fleet alternatives.