Tankers loaded with Russian crude that had stayed idle off India’s coast for days discharged their cargo at Indian oil import terminals over the weekend, in defiance of the U.S. threats of additional “penalties” on the world’s third-largest crude importer for buying Russian oil.
While Indian refiners last week were scrambling to understand the implications of President Trump’s threatened “penalties” on India for buying Russian oil, at least four tankers carrying crude cargoes from Russia were staying idle off India’s west coast on Friday, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
India’s top state refiners did not purchase any crude from Russia last week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened secondary tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil and as discounts of Moscow’s crudes narrowed to alternatives, industry sources with knowledge of the procurement plans told Reuters on Thursday.
However, the tankers carrying Russian crude that have arrived near India’s coasts have now discharged more than 3 million barrels of Russia’s flagship Urals grade, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Private Indian refiners Nayara Energy and Reliance Industries imported most of these barrels. Nayara, in which Russia’s oil giant Rosneft holds 49%, and Reliance have long-term supply deals to buy Russian crude.
Despite the U.S. threats of penalties, the EU sanctions against Nayara Energy, and an EU ban on imports of fuels processed from Russian crude, India hasn’t instructed its refiners to halt purchases of Moscow’s oil, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg this weekend.
India’s state-controlled and private refiners are allowed to buy crude from whichever source they prefer and the buying remains a commercial decision, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
The world’s third-largest crude oil importer, India, has significantly boosted Russian oil imports since 2022, when Russia’s oil was banned in the West. Russia currently accounts for about a third of India’s oil purchases, becoming the single largest crude supplier to India.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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