Indian refineries help Russian oil exporters by accepting record volumes of their crude. Last month, Indian ports unloaded over 2.3 million barrels of Russian oil per day, and in July, shipments remain near that level, Bloomberg reports, as reported by UNN.
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The U.S. imposed sanctions on several of Russia's largest producers at the end of last year. It was expected to significantly reduce flows, but the use of intermediaries allowed shipments to increase sharply.
The growth in supplies is driven by reduced exports from the Persian Gulf, new strikes on Russian plants, and a drop in Russian oil prices.
Due to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, threats from the Houthis in the Red Sea, and attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, exports from the region have fallen again.
At the same time, Ukrainian drones continue to strike Russian refineries. A series of these attacks has brought Russia's refining volumes to their lowest level in over 21 years. This has deepened the domestic fuel shortage and forced Russian authorities to allocate subsidies for fuel imports. Since Russian plants cannot process oil at home, the crude is sent for export.
Indian buyers may also have been encouraged by the sharp drop in Russian oil prices. Over the past 13 weeks, its average four-week price has been continuously declining and now stands at just over half of its mid-April peak.
At the beginning of the year, the threat of U.S. sanctions forced some Indian refining companies to refuse purchases of Russian oil. Such caution may return, as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators hopes to soon bring a bill on new sanctions against Russia to the floor.
The document provides for the imposition of duties of up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, including India. At the same time, it is not yet known whether U.S. President Donald Trump will dare to impose such duties, given that Washington and New Delhi are currently conducting trade negotiations.
India will continue to expand oil refining capacity despite global decline – Modi04.07.26, 16:23