The newest round of U.S. sanctions on Russia — paired with extended restrictions aimed at BRICS nations — was supposed to “limit crude access” and tighten political pressure.
Instead, it did something the State Department never expected:
It pushed India and other BRICS members straight into the arms of U.S. firms to procure the very crude Washington is trying to control.
In other words, sanctions meant to isolate Russia may now be accelerating a structural shift away from U.S. influence.
And Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin isn’t whispering.
He’s warning the West outright:
America’s sanctions regime is accelerating its own economic pain — while BRICS keeps expanding its share of global energy and detaching from the dollar.
Why This Sanctions Round Backfires
The U.S. strategy assumes the world still moves through Washington-controlled financial plumbing.
But that world is gone.
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BRICS controls over 42% of global oil production — a number that continues to rise.
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India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and the Middle East bloc have no intention of reducing energy consumption or supply chains to please U.S. policymakers.
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And the sanctions didn’t shut off demand — they simply rerouted it.
India buying oil through U.S. intermediaries isn’t compliance.
It’s a workaround — a temporary bridge until BRICS finalizes its non-dollar clearing systems.
Sechin’s message:
The more Washington weaponizes energy flows, the faster BRICS will build alternatives.
Underinvestment Comes Back to Haunt the West
The article also highlighted a painful reality:
Western oil majors have been underinvesting in exploration for over a decade.
That underinvestment is now colliding with:
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rising BRICS production,
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rising BRICS demand, and
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rising BRICS geopolitical leverage.
This leaves the U.S. and Europe in the worst position:
high dependence, low investment, and shrinking control over global price dynamics.
Sanctions don’t change that — they amplify it.
The Dollar Shift Is Already in Motion
With more than 6,000+ tonnes of BRICS gold in reserve, new energy-backed trading corridors, and non-SWIFT settlement systems being tested across Asia and the Middle East…
U.S. sanctions have become the accelerant, not the deterrent.
Every time America tries to weaponize the system, it teaches the rest of the world how to route around it.
Sechin’s warning isn’t rhetorical — it’s structural:
BRICS doesn’t need to collapse the dollar.
The dollar collapses itself if too many countries learn to operate without it.
And they’re learning fast.