US sanctions against tankers carrying Russian crude oil, breaking the price ceiling, have forced Indian refiners to cut off at least some of their Russian supplies. At the beginning of the year, Indian refineries increased purchases of Saudi oil, and now American oil is replacing Russian oil.
Source. Reuters
Currently, about 7.6 million barrels of oil, or 256,000 barrels per day, are heading to India from the United States, the highest volume of supplies in more than a year, according to Kpler tanker tracking data. The tankers sailing from the US are chartered by Reliance Industries, India's largest private oil refiner, as well as oil trader Vitol and Korean shipping company Sinokor.
Reliance became the first Indian refiner to refuse to work with Sovcomflot after the US imposed sanctions on it in late February. Its vessels are used for the shadow fleet that transports Russian oil.
Following Reliance, other Indian companies, including state-owned ones, stopped accepting cargoes delivered by Sovcomflot. Refineries are now scrutinising the details of each tanker to make sure it is not linked to Sovcomflot. Several companies and dozens of tankers from the UAE and Turkey have also been penalised for violating the $60 per barrel price ceiling since last autumn.
In February, India bought 22% more oil from Saudi Arabia than in January, and Reliance Industries purchased the highest volume since May 2020, according to Kpler.
In the middle of 2-23 February, supplies from Russia to India reached 2 million barrels per day or more, from autumn to the end of February – 1.4-1.6 million barrels per day, and in the last three weeks (through 24 March) fell to 1.2 million, according to Bloomberg ship tracking data.
Background. Meanwhile, it has become known that Russia has started direct oil supplies to North Korea despite UN sanctions.