India’s imports of Russian crude this month are set to be close to the three-year low in December as refiners avoid sanctioned cargoes and sellers and look to diversify sourcing to appease the U.S. Administration.
Due to the U.S. sanctions on Russia, India is estimated to have imported 1.1-1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in December—volumes that were sharply down from November and the lowest level in just over three years. The December imports would be down from an estimated 1.84 million bpd in November.
Vessel-tracking firm Kpler puts the January imports at 1.2-1.4 million bpd. But India’s actual imports could be lower than this estimate, sources with knowledge of the flows told Bloomberg on Thursday.
Indian firms are scouring the globe for favorably priced crude to replace the Russian supply they have lost following the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top producers Rosneft and Lukoil.
Indian refiners have halted imports from the now-sanctioned entities and turned to non-sanctioned Russian supply and alternative cargoes from the Middle East, the Americas, and, to a lesser extent, West Africa, arbitrage permitting.
India is estimated to have imported $168 billion worth of Russian crude oil since Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
But after the U.S. sanctions in October and amid difficult trade negotiations with the Trump Administration, Indian refiners have turned to various producers in the Americas and West Africa to replace part of the Russian volumes.
India is also asking domestic refiners to provide timely and accurate data on a weekly basis of imports of Russian and U.S. crude, as New Delhi plans to show the data to the U.S. Administration as it seeks a trade deal, sources with knowledge of the efforts told Reuters earlier this month.
India has been trying to seal a trade deal with the United States for months, but the Trump Administration has singled out India as the key financier of Russia’s war spending as the buyer of large volumes of Russian crude oil.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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