Supplies of Russian oil to India's largest refineries are expected to drop to almost zero after the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, reported Bloomberg, citing top managers of Indian refineries.
According to the agency's interlocutors, Donald Trump's sanctions, announced by the US after several months of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, will make it almost impossible to continue oil supplies from Russia to India, which sharply increased after the start of the war in Ukraine. India became the largest market for seaborne oil exports
In the short term, the sanctions mean that orders to be placed next week—for oil to be loaded in November and delivered in December—will now be from other suppliers.
According to Reuters, Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals are now reviewing agreements with Russia. However, according to industry sources, Indian state refineries rarely purchase oil directly from Rosneft or Lukoil. They usually make purchases through intermediaries.
In September, India purchased 1.6 million barrels per day from Russia, covering 36% of its import needs. At the peak, in April-June of this year, supplies reached about 2 million barrels per day.
"This is certainly one of the most significant measures taken by the US, but I think its effectiveness will be reduced due to the widespread use of illicit financial networks. So it all comes down to whether China and India fear further escalation of secondary restrictions," said Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, to Bloomberg.