Lowers Russian crude oil price cap

Summary#

These final rules, the Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, lower the price cap placed on Russian seaborne crude oil and update the regulations’ schedules and listings. The changes came into force on registration (August 28, 2025) and were published in the Canada Gazette on September 10, 2025.

What it does#

• Lowers the crude oil price cap from $60 (per barrel) to $47.60 (per barrel).
• Keeps the existing caps for other petroleum products: high-value products at $100.00 and low-value products at $45.00 per barrel, and moves all caps into a new Schedule 10.01 in the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations for clarity.
• Adds a temporary 45‑day grace period: the new crude cap does not apply to services connected to goods that were loaded onto a ship before the rules came into force and unloaded at destination within 45 days after registration.
• Removes limited, expired exceptions that previously allowed certain imports into Bulgaria and Croatia.
• Corrects and updates listings in the sanctions schedules: fixes names and dates of birth for several designated individuals, adjusts vessel names, removes a duplicate listing, and makes other minor accuracy changes.
• Takes the external G7+ Coalition Oil Price Cap List offline since the caps are now in the regulations.

Who's affected#

• Maritime service providers, shipowners and operators, and firms involved in ship-to-ship transfers who rely on services connected to seaborne Russian crude and petroleum products.
• The insurance sector and banks or financial institutions that underwrite or finance shipping and oil transactions. Financial institutions must apply enhanced due diligence on Russia-related transactions.
• Companies and brokers that arrange marine transport or related services may need to check prices against the new cap before providing services.
• Designated individuals and vessel owners named in the regulations, because some of their details were corrected or their listings adjusted.
• Law enforcement and government departments involved in enforcement and compliance, including Global Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
• The general Canadian public and Canadian businesses are unlikely to see major direct effects, because Canada already bans direct imports of Russian oil and the government says Canadian industry participation in the affected services is minimal. It is unclear from the text whether any Canadian firms currently provide the relevant services.

Why it matters#

• The change is meant to reduce revenue flowing to the Russian government from seaborne oil exports. That revenue is viewed by the government as supporting Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
• Lowering the cap could push more trade into informal or opaque routes (the so-called “shadow fleet”), raising risks of unsafe transfers, weaker maintenance and unclear ownership — and increasing the challenge for enforcement.
• The government says the new level is unlikely to cause big spikes in global oil prices, but the move could affect trade flows and market behaviour for seaborne Russian oil.
• Non‑compliance can lead to enforcement actions in Canada. The regulations remind readers that sanctions violations carry penalties (including fines and potential imprisonment). The rules also keep in place the permitting route for exceptional, authorized activities, though officials do not expect permit requests tied to this change.