BRICS: Top Oil Producer Ditches US Dollar, Accepts Only Local Currency

BRICS member Russia is evading US sanctions by accepting local currencies as payment for exports and not the US dollar. Russia’s third-biggest oil producer, ‘Gazprom Neft‘ announced that the company has completely stopped accepting the US dollar as payment. The oil exporter has ditched the US dollar and switched to accepting local currencies for cross-border transactions. This is the first oil-producing firm to completely switch from the US dollar to local currencies in 2023.

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The development comes on the heels of the de-dollarization efforts initiated by the BRICS alliance. Just recently, BRICS members India and the UAE settled an oil trade using the Rupee and not the US dollar. Saudi Arabia also confirmed recently that it is open to accepting local currencies for oil trade across the world. Read here to learn how the American economy will be impacted if BRICS stops using the US dollar as payment.

Also Read: What Should The U.S. Do to Counter BRICS?

BRICS: Russian Oil Exporter Ends US Dollar Dependency, Accepts Local Currency For Payment

Alexander Dyukov, the CEO of Gazprom Neft, said that the company has completely moved away from the U.S. dollar. He added that the firm will not be accepting Euros, which will eventually put pressure on the countries of the European Union. “We have virtually moved away from payments in dollars and euros,” he said to Tass.

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Dyukov revealed that the oil firm will accept the Chinese Yuan and the Russian Ruble as payment moving forward. “We mainly use Yuan and Rubles,” he said. A spokesperson said that the company has no issues accepting and withdrawing foreign currencies from across the world.

However, the CEO stressed that the company is not open to accepting the Indian Rupee as payment. “No. We don’t use Rupees,” he said without citing why the INR is left out as a payment option. If many other oil companies follow suit, the US dollar could be in jeopardy. The means to fund the dollar’s deficit will narrow, leading to economic turmoil in the US.