India’s oil imports from Russia have been declining since the beginning of the year, while imports from the USA have more than doubled – the reason is the US sanctions. Suriyapong Thongsawang
India is buying more American crude as it withdraws from trade with Russia, Bloomberg reports.
American barrel shipments have reached their highest level since May last year.
Russian imports have taken a hit as Western sanctions limit Moscow’s ability to ship crude oil.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.
American oil barrels are flowing into the Indian market – triggered by a shift in demand caused by Washington itself. Western sanctions against Moscow have curbed New Delhi’s appetite for Russian crude and prompted India to switch to U.S. exports.
An estimated 7.6 million barrels of US crude oil were shipped to India, the highest level since May last year. This emerges from Kpler data provided by “Bloombergbe quoted. This is an impressive increase from the start of the year, when India imported just three million US barrels in January.
At the same time, Indian purchases of Russian oil have fallen as the US and its allies have tightened sanctions against Moscow.
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Washington has begun to individually sanction companies that violate a Western price cap for Russian barrels. Since October, more than 50 ships have come into focus. The Russian tanker company Sovcomflot was also targeted. Since then, Indian refineries have stopped accepting deliveries from this company’s ships.
Strict controls reduce trading benefits
Although India is restricting its trade with Russia in part because of fears of further sanctions, tighter US controls are also reducing the benefits of trade with Moscow. With fewer ships available, Russia ships its oil at lower discounts. This removes the incentive that originally piqued Indian interest.
In March, India imported an estimated 33.8 million barrels of Russian crude oil. For comparison: In January there were 51.1 million, as Kpler data shows. New Delhi aside, U.S. crude is rapidly gaining global market share, especially as OPEC and Russia cut oil production.
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Just last week, Moscow ordered its companies to to cut their oil production in the second quarter. The country typically targets a production level of nine million barrels per day. This is part of a broader OPEC strategy to reduce supply to keep prices under control.
However, American production has not held back. The country is the largest producer in history for the sixth consecutive year, according to the Energy Information Administration. As a result, exports have skyrocketed and US imports to Asia reached a record high last year, according to Bloomberg.
Read the original article Business Insider.