Русский
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a state-owned oil and gas company, has stated it will continue to buy Russian crude as long as it does not violate US sanctions, the companies Finance Director, Anuj Jain, has stated. He added that the company maintains a database of sanctioned entities and will continue to source oil from non-sanctioned suppliers under the price cap mechanism.
Jain said that “We are absolutely not going to discontinue buying Russian crude as long as we are complying with the sanctions. Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines which have been sanctioned.”
In September, 34% of India’s oil imports came from Russia. On average, about 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian oil reaches India.
Jain said that approximately 55% of India’s total oil imports from Russia originate from Rosneft and Lukoil, which were targeted by the new US sanctions announced by Washington last week. That leaves 45% of Russian oil exports to India from alternative sources available to Indian refineries.
Russia and India can also work around the US sanctions by providing oil exports as mentioned from alternative sources and producers, as well as using non-sanctioned vessels and traders. A practical sticking point in the sanctions is that India has a successful oil refining industry that processes Russian crude for use in Europe. Without those supplies, the EU and UK would face significant shortages. Trump though wants Europe wholly dependent on US oil supplies.
Earlier this year, Trump announced a 25% punitive tariff on India as a penalty for bringing in Russian oil, accusing India and China of fuelling the Ukraine conflict by buying the crude. The levies were in addition to 25% tariffs imposed on India after New Delhi and Washington could not reach a trade deal in August.
US President Donald Trump has claimed several times that India will reduce its oil imports from Russia, based on a conversation he had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi, however, has denied such assurances were made. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal emphasized India’s “consistent priority” is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers “in a volatile energy scenario,” adding that this objective guides the country’s import policies.
Further Reading
