Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom is now conducting crude trade with foreign partners with the Chinese yuan and Russian rubles – a significant step in reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar and euro, which both became unreliable following the Western sanctions imposed on the Eurasian nation.

The company's CEO Aleksandr Dyukov revealed this information on the sidelines of the TNF Energy forum, which was held in the oil-rich Tyumen Region in Siberia.

The conventional practice of conducting international trade used to be done using major global currencies like the dollar and euro. This decision increasingly reflected a strategic move to align its trade practices more closely with the economic and geopolitical interests of Russia, as well as its significant energy ties with China.

According to Dyukov, the company has not experienced any problems withdrawing its export earnings in foreign currency since it started trading with the said currencies. It also receives its revenue from oil and petroleum products sales at short notice.

Meanwhile, despite a notable shift in other national currencies of a substantial portion of its export transactions, Dyukov mentioned that the Indian currency is still not being utilized in export settlements. "This decision underscores the company's selective approach in transitioning away from traditional global currencies, taking into consideration the specific dynamics of its international trade relationships, Arabic business news agency MenaFN reported. "We don't use rupees. We mainly use yuan and rubles. We have practically moved away from payments in dollars and euros," the CEO said.

Also, Russia is not the only one moving to dethrone the USD. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has agreed to switch payments for gas supplies to rubles (RUB) and renminbi (RMB) instead of dollars. According to Simon Watkins, former senior FX trader, financial journalist, and best-selling author, in the first phase of the new payments system, this will apply to Russian gas supplies to China via the 'Power of Siberia' eastern pipeline route that totals at minimum 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year (bcm/y).