Those countries still need oil and that oil needs to be bought with dollars. Normally doesn’t end well for countries that try to break out of that system.
Exactly. China sees the current sale price of Russian petroleum products as just such an opportunity, and is using the Northern Sea Route to move the products (1). The Russians have recently passed a law to further assert their control of that route (2). Interestingly, the US countered by conducting what amounts to a freedom of navigation operation in the area (3).
Don’t forget Iran and Venezuela. And the Israel/Palestine conflict, along with other geoeconomic factors, puts Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in play. New production coming online via projects such as EACOP as well.
