Putin tightens Russia’s energy data secrecy to hinder Western sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday further restricting disclosures of information about energy and oil products in an effort to make sanctions imposed by the US ​and other Western countries harder to enforce.

According to a document published on the official legal information portal, the measure was introduced “due to the need to take urgent action in response to unfriendly acts contrary to international law by the United States of America and foreign states and international organizations that have joined it.”

Under the decree, “information regarding the processing volumes and product output of a legal entity, a Russian oil refinery,” was added to the list of information subject to restricted access.

The decree also prohibits the dissemination of information on the names, quantities and prices of exported energy products; the identities of sellers, buyers and intermediaries; payment settlements; delivery dates and times; transport vehicles; and routes, terminals and storage facilities, including their geographic coordinates.

“Aggregated customs statistics” and data on “planned sales volumes” for oil products and energy products are also classified as restricted information.

The decree also prohibits the dissemination of such information through the media and the internet except for information disclosed by companies about their own activities. Access may be granted with the consent of the data owner, while state agencies may access the information within their legal authority.

The government was given 10 days to determine the product codes covered by the restrictions and approve rules for automated processing of data from state systems.