Sechin called Europe a victim of sanctions against Russian hydrocarbons

Europe has suffered the most from Western sanctions that affected Russian hydrocarbons, said Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, speaking at the Doha Forum. His words were quoted on the company's Telegram channel.

"The West's application of sanctions affected about 40% of the world's hydrocarbon resource base. The target of these sanctions was not only Iran, Venezuela and Russia , but above all Europe, which lost stable and relatively cheap supplies, as well as the growing markets of the Asia-Pacific region, which are facing restrictions on their economic needs," he said.

The top manager added that "events in Europe over the past few years lead to certain conclusions" - for example, a 5% reduction in industrial production there over two years. He noted that Great Britain, which left the EU, left the union in time.

According to Sechin, the West needs “newspaper clippings” to impose sanctions. He recalled that he himself is under sanctions and that some of those present at the forum “may face criminal prosecution for communicating” with him.

The head of Rosneft pointed out that energy is used "for political purposes", which has caused "unprecedented volatility in the energy market". At the same time, he noted, "political cycles" are much shorter than investment cycles - five to ten times, and now ensuring energy security "is given secondary importance".

The EU has repeatedly said it wants to wean itself off Russia's energy dependence. Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc had already stopped relying on Russian oil and gas due to a significant reduction in supplies.

Since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the EU has been receiving less gas from Russia (one of the reasons is the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline), and has reduced oil supplies (there is an embargo on its import by sea). However, in some countries (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia)Oil from Russia continues to flow through the Druzhba pipeline, and the EU also continues to buy liquefied natural gas from Moscow.

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