Russia nearly doubles oil earnings to $19 billion as West Asia war roils energy markets

The US-Israeli war against Iran proved the biggest leverage for Washington's other adversary as Russia nearly doubled its earnings from oil exports in March, after Moscow was granted sanctions relief in a bid to offset soaring energy prices during the war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday (April 14).

The country earned $19 billion last month as crude and oil product exports rose to 7.1 million barrels per day, up 320,000 barrels per day from February levels.

The United States eased some restrictions on sales of Russian crude imposed over its war against Ukraine, allowing countries to purchase oil that was already at sea until April 11 to calm the raging oil prices, after Iran attacked energy infrastructure across the Gulf in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic which began on February 28 killing top leadership to spark a regime change in Tehran, while Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil transits, sent energy markets into a spiral.

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However, after nearly 39 days of fighting, both sides reached a fragile 12-day ceasefire to negotiate peace, but it remains in limbo as the talks in Islamabad collapsed after 21 hours of negotiations ended without agreement, with US Vice President JD Vance saying Tehran had refused to accept Washington's terms. US President Trump subsequently announced a naval blockade of Iran, declaring that the United States would stop every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Tehran, Council on Foreign Relations casting a long shadow over the already fragile truce.

In another positive development for Moscow's energy exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that a pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia that was damaged in attacks by Moscow would reopen by the end of April.

"As for the oil pipeline, as we promised, it will be repaired by the end of April, not completely, but enough for it to function," Zelensky told reporters in Berlin.

The status of the pipeline had been a major source of tension between Zelensky, who wants all EU countries to stop buying Russian energy, and Hungary's outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintained warm ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the invasion of Ukraine and suffered a landslide election defeat on Sunday as his Fidesz party was reduced to just 55 seats against the 138 secured by Peter Magyar's opposition Tisza party, bringing an end to his 16-year rule.