Russian oil piles up at sea after losing Indian market, Bloomberg reports

According to the outlet, in the four weeks leading up to January 11, Russia shipped an average of 3.42 million barrels of oil per day. This is roughly 450,000 barrels per day below the pre-crisis peak before Christmas.

The fifteenth consecutive price drop, combined with a slight reduction in supply volumes, has pushed shipment values to their lowest level since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Moscow’s main challenge is not loading oil onto tankers, but unloading it. At least 12 Urals-grade oil tankers are anchored off the southern coast of Oman, some since mid-December, while new tankers continue to arrive.

Ships have also been idling for weeks in the Arabian Sea and off the coast of China. Delays in unloading, along with the increasing number of longer voyages to China instead of India, have resulted in a record volume of Russian oil piled up at sea.

Almost all shipments from the Arctic port of Murmansk are now headed to China. Last summer, most tankers delivered oil to India or Syria, but the Syrian market was lost after the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime, and Indian buyers are avoiding oil from Gazprom Neft and Lukoil.

Pressure on Moscow is intensifying amid US legislative efforts that would allow penalties for countries buying cheap Russian oil, as well as more active White House measures to restrict shipments of sanctioned crude.

Another risk factor is attacks on tankers. In the Black Sea, ships continue to be targeted by drones, including near the Turkish coast and the Caspian Pipeline Terminal near Novorossiysk.

Against this backdrop, Russian oil production is declining: in December, output fell nearly 250,000 barrels per day below the OPEC+ target, marking the largest drop in 18 months.

India is ready to buy Venezuelan oil

Earlier, Indian companies announced they are prepared to purchase oil from Venezuela if the US grants the necessary approvals.

This comes as India has sharply reduced imports of Russian oil following US sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft.