The Group of Seven (G7), which includes the United States, Britain, Germany and France, agreed in September to enforce a low price on sales of Russian oil.
And with just three weeks to go, time is running out to fully convince the shipping services industry it will work.
Concerns are centred around a scenario in which insurers discover that oil in transit at sea, which was believed to have been sold below the price cap, was in fact sold above it.
The official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the matter.
"This would be a bad development as no one will want uninsured ships sitting off coasts," he added.