Companies Vitol SA FollowSINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - An imminent price cap on Russian oil by G7 countries is likely to divert trade to smaller companies, the chief executive of Dutch energy and commodity trader Vitol, Russell Hardy, said on Wednesday. Larger corporates such as Western banks and insurance companies will not participate in the trades unless there is absolute clarity that the price of the contract is below the price cap, Hardy said at the FT Commodities Asia Summit in Singapore. So the challenge of redirecting leftover Russian oil that typically goes into Europe will be in the hands of smaller companies that do not operate in G7 nations, he said. The price cap will probably be segmented into three portions, including low-value Russian products, high-value Russian products, and crude oil, he added. PRICE OUTLOOKHardy said oil prices would still lean towards the downside until early 2023, as some customers had already covered their current requirements.

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