New dig to Russia

US sanctions against Russian oil companies for projects for the development of hard -to -recover oil have been expanded. This is stated in the document published by Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the structure of the American Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for law enforcement in the field of sanctions.

Sector sanctions imposed in 2014 in connection with aggression in Ukraine prohibit participation in American and foreign companies in oil production projects on the Arctic shelf, in deep -sea regions of the sea and shales, if the company that has fallen under the sanctions is involved in such a project. Now the list includes Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz, as well as their subsidiaries).

A new one is added to these restrictions. Now restrictions apply to any Arctic, deep -sea or shale oil projects in Russian territory. It is also forbidden to cooperate with any projects outside Russia if the Russian company includes 33 percent included in the sanctions list or more in such a project, or controls most of the voting rights. The latest restrictions do not affect the projects started before January 29, 2018. Also, purely gas projects do not fall under sanctions.

The restrictions are expanding in accordance with the law of new sanctions against Russia, as well as Iran and the DPRK signed on August 2, US President Donald Trump. The document was adopted in the House of Representatives with 419 votes against three , and in the Senate - 98 against two . About half the document is devoted to anti -Russian sanctions. It is noted that they are introduced "in response to a crisis in eastern Ukraine, cyber attacks, as well as human rights violations in Russia."

The document, in addition to the ban on the transfer of American technologies for exploration and production of oil, limits transactions in the field of pipeline export of hydrocarbons, as well as transactions with the participation of Russian military and special structures. On October 27, the US State Department prepared and transferred to Congress a list of Russian persons and organizations that can affect new sanctions . It included 33 companies of the defense sector, including Rosoboronexport, Rostec, Uralvagonzavod Izhmash, Kalashnikov, Almaz-Antei MiG, Sukhoi, the United Aircraft Building Corporation, the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Of the reconnaissance structures, the list includes the FSB, SVR, GRU and three organizations for the production of special equipment.

Along with this, it is forbidden to participate in privatization transactions with Russian state property, if they assume an investment volume of more than $ 10 million a year and contribute to the illegal enrichment of officials, their relatives and close associates. Finally, sanctions against Russian financial institutions and their employees are imposed, who provide assistance to the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in the development or receipt of weapons, in particular rocket and weapons of mass destruction.

The same document enshrines at the legislative level the previous orders of the US administration on sanctions and obliges the country's president to coordinate any mitigation of sanctions with Congress.