Indian Oil Corporation Limited has agreed to import 3 million barrels of petroleum from a Russian oil company. While Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in reaction to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, including the United States' oil import ban, there are no prohibitions on Indian oil businesses buying crude oil from Russian oil corporations.
Russian oil exports to India have more than quadrupled this month, indicating the massive reworking of global energy patterns that have occurred since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India, the world's third-largest energy consumer, has purchased multiple cargoes of Russian oil from dealers while European purchasers avoided the country's massive commodities market as a result of Western sanctions against Moscow.
So far in March, Russia has shipped 360,000 barrels of oil per day to India, roughly four times the average for 2021. According to Kpler, a commodities monitoring and analytics business, the country is on track to exceed 203,000 b/d for the entire month based on current shipment schedules. Cargoes loaded aboard tankers and en way to India are represented by export data.
'India's legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised'
Delhi struck out at the West on Friday, saying countries with "oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot honestly support restrictive trading," underscoring that India's "legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised."
From defence to trade, India and Russia have a long-standing relationship, and Putin visited India in December, only his second international trip since the pandemic. New Delhi has abstained from UN resolutions criticising Russian aggression thus far. With imports covering 85 per cent of India's crude needs, increased oil prices put a strain on the country's finances.
