India rushes to buy US oil after cutting Russian supply — Reuters
Photo: India buys American oil (Getty Images)
India's largest oil refiner, Indian Oil Corporation, purchased 7 million barrels of oil for delivery in September. This is due to a reduction in purchases of Russian oil due to sanctions, according to Reuters.
Purchases through tender
According to sources, Indian Oil Corporation has purchased 4.5 million barrels of American oil, 500,000 barrels of Canadian Western Canadian Select, and 2 million barrels of Das oil produced in Abu Dhabi.
P66, Equinor, Mercuria, and Vitol were the suppliers of American oil in the tender, which closed on August 1. Trafigura will supply 2 million barrels of Das crude.
The prices of the deals were not disclosed. The sources were not authorized to speak to the press and wished to remain anonymous.
Replacement of Russian oil
According to 2 sources, the high volume of purchases is due to a partial replacement of supplies from Russia. India remains the largest buyer of Russian oil transported by sea.
However, in recent weeks, the country's state-owned refineries, including IOC, HPCL, BPCL, and MRPL, have suspended purchases of oil from Russia. The reason is the narrowing price gap and geopolitical pressure.
Sanctions and US pressure
The agreements were concluded against the backdrop of new European Union sanctions targeting Russian energy trade. US President Donald Trump has previously threatened countries that buy oil from Moscow with 100 percent secondary tariffs.
According to Reuters, at least two tankers with Russian oil bound for India were diverted after the recent package of US sanctions.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the US President Stephen Miller accused India of financing the war in Ukraine through oil purchases. He stated that this is unacceptable.
US President Donald Trump has announced that India will no longer buy oil from Russia.
Before the war against Ukraine, India bought only 2% of its oil from Moscow. Now the share of Russian oil in India's imports is 35%.
