Russian oil exports to India increase 25 times

Since February, India has received 34 million barrels of discounted Russian oil, more than 10 times its total imports compared to the same period last year – Reuters cited data by Refinitiv Eikon.

Of which, Russia supplied more than 24 million barrels of crude oil to India this month, up from 7.2 million barrels in April and from about 3 million barrels in March. The data also shows, the South Asian country will receive about 28 million barrels of oil in June.

Last year, Russia’s crude oil exports to India averaged just 960,000 barrels per month, nearly 25 times less than this month’s total.

Western sanctions, which have made some European buyers wary of buying Russian oil, have provided an opportunity for Indian refiners to increase their purchases of oil from Moscow (mainly Urals crude) at discounted prices. discount.

India is criticized by the West for buying oil from Russia. However, New Delhi rejected the criticism, saying that its imports represent only a small fraction of the country’s overall needs. Authorities also said India would continue to buy “cheap” oil from Russia as a sudden shutdown of the source could increase costs for consumers.

Previous media reports have also indicated that the world’s third-largest oil importer wants to buy Russian crude at less than $70 a barrel, offsetting the additional hurdles posed by sanctions.

EU leaders recently reached an agreement to ban most of Russia’s oil imports from the bloc. The embargo, which came to an agreement after weeks of difficult negotiations, will apply to oil and petroleum products but includes a temporary exemption for oil transported from Russia to the EU by pipeline. This regulation is intended to give Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic more time to cut crude oil supplies from Russia.

The agreement paves the way for the EU to enact a sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the hostilities in Ukraine, along with measures aimed at other Russian banks and individuals.

However, this partial ban also risks hurting competition in the EU oil market, as refineries connected to pipelines from Russia enjoy a price advantage. Russian oil prices have plummeted as European traders avoid using the country’s crude oil shipped by sea.

Currently, Russia’s Urals crude oil is trading at about $93 per barrel, compared with $120 for Brent, the international oil benchmark. While Russian oil delivered through Druzhba may not be as discounted, depending on how the contract is structured, according to Hungarian oil group Mol, it has enjoyed a “spike” in profits from the mills. refinery since March, due to “the widening Brent-Ural spread.”