Norway has introduced a price cap on Russian petroleum products

‘The price cap is intended to reduce Russia’s revenues from the sale of petroleum products to third countries. The purpose of the wide-ranging packages of sanctions is to reduce Russia’s ability to finance its illegal war in Ukraine,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt.

The price caps have been set at USD 45 per barrel for refined petroleum products that trade at a discount to crude oil, and USD 100 per barrel for refined petroleum products that trade above the price of crude oil. This corresponds to the price caps adopted by the EU and the G7 countries.

‘Russia must not be allowed to take advantage of high energy prices to pay for a war that they have started. The purpose of a price cap is to curtail key revenues that the Russian state needs to finance the war,’ said Ms Huitfeldt.

It is prohibited to import, purchase and transfer Russian oil and petroleum products to Norway, the EU and third countries. In connection with the implementation of the price cap on petroleum products, an exemption will now apply to the provisions prohibiting technical assistance, brokering services, financing or financial assistance for the transport, trade and brokering of Russian petroleum products. The exemption applies to petroleum products sold below the designated price cap.

A transitional period has been introduced for petroleum products which were loaded onto a vessel prior to 5 February 2023 and will be unloaded prior to 1 April 2023. 

Guidelines for the business sector

See the updated Guidelines for the business sector issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norwegian only). 

Amended regulations

The sanctions adopted by the EU have been implemented in Norwegian law through amendments to the relevant regulations.

For more information about the changes to the sanctions package, see the regulations (Norwegian only).

The amendments to the regulations will enter into force immediately and will be published on Lovdata.