Moscow also had other reasons for wanting to strike a blow against the American energy sector. Late last year, Washington levied sanctions against Nord Stream 2, a strategic gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, pushing back its completion date by at least several months and raising costs, at a time when American shale gas was entering European markets. More recently, the United States sanctioned a Rosneft subsidiary, Rosneft Trading, for assisting the Maduro regime in circumventing US restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports. Premium: Iran's Plan To Lure The U.S. Into War But Moscow did not anticipate the Saudi reaction to its refusal to agree to further cuts. The Saudis' threat to open the spigot and offer steep discounts on their oil exports pushed oil prices down to lows not seen in decades.