Re: You want to play hardball?
that means that Russia isn't going to be earning the normal rate on it's oil
No arguments there. It is not "just" pumping the oil from under the ground but, rather, STORING them.
When the oil starts to flow it is very difficult to "shut the tap". That oil needs to be stored somewhere. Russia does not have a lot of storage because, in the past, there was really no need to.
But now, nearly every country, except China, NK and India, everyone has stopped buying Russian oil. Those "excess stock" needs to be stored somewhere.
Iran did that a few years ago when they used their own tankers as floating storage units. But there will come a time those storage tanks are going to get full.
So, yes, they may not earn much but Russia will earn a not less because for them to move tiny bits they need to sell those stocks at a significantly reduced prices.
China have a lot of teacups and they are happy to pay in cash, as in "cold" cash, and whatever currency Russia wants.
China state refiners shun new Russian oil trades, teapots fly under radar
Cheap in this case means just 'a little bit less than the market rate'.
I would not call a discount of US$31/b "little bit less than the market rate" if you multiply that with 500k barrels (per shipment).