Russia rebuilds oil supply schemes to keep Indian market despite sanctions
Russia has found a way to adapt its oil exports to India after the introduction of new US sanctions by changing the structure of suppliers. This is reported by The Guardian, citing industry analysts.
According to them, the Russian side has started to withdraw the largest state-owned companies - Rosneft and Lukoil - from the supply chain, replacing them with new exporters. Formally, these companies are not affiliated with the major oil giants, which allows Indian refineries to avoid direct violation of the US sanctions regime.
Export statistics show that by December, several new Russian traders had already emerged, who can act as shadow intermediaries between producers in Russia and buyers in India. Homayun Falakshahi, chief oil analyst at Kpler, predicts that over the next two to three months, most supplies will be made through such structures.
The Indian authorities, according to the publication, did not provide refiners with direct instructions on purchasing Russian oil, limiting themselves to recommending that they act in accordance with their own economic interests. During his visit to India in December, Vladimir Putin said that Russian oil supplies would remain stable despite the US position.
The key factor for India is the price: the country imports about 90% of its oil, and after the sanctions, Russian crude is sold at a discount of $9-10 per barrel compared to oil from Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Analysts estimate that continuing such purchases could save up to $4bn a year.
At the same time, India's largest private oil refiner, Reliance, has publicly refused to purchase Russian oil since November and in January did not import it at all for the first time.
After the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, India became the second largest buyer of Russian oil in the world. Although US sanctions and additional tariffs initially reduced imports from 1.7 million to around 1.2 million barrels per day, experts doubt the long-term effectiveness of the restrictions. At present, four of India's seven largest refineries are still heavily dependent on Russian crude.
Russian oil, sanctions, India, energy market, USA, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
