ByTsvetana Paraskova– Feb 11, 2025, 7:15 AM CST
U.S. sanctions against Russia’s oil exports and trade should not hinder Russian energy trade with India, Russia’s first deputy energy minister, Pavel Sorokin, said on Tuesday.
Indian refiners are scrambling for alternatives after the U.S. sanctions designated hundreds of tankers, as well as oil traders, last month.
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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the bans on Russian oil in the West, India has become a key buyer of Russian crude, alongside China. Russia, for its part, became the single biggest oil supplier to India, the world’s third-largest oil importer.
Now the sanctions have reduced the availability of non-sanctioned tankers to carry out the trades.
For India, which imports more than 80% of the crude it consumes daily, the costs are spiking and the cheap Russian barrels are disappearing as Indian refiners steer clear of tankers explicitly sanctioned by the U.S.
“We believe energy trade shouldn’t be hindered by any politics,” Russia’s Sorokin told the audience at the India Energy Week conference on Tuesday.
“Our relationship with India is based on economic pragmatism,” Sorokin said, as carried by Reuters.
It is too early to assess the impact of the U.S. sanctions on the Russia-India oil trade, the Russian official added.
“More time is needed to assess these things, but we believe that constructive relationships will continue to be successful,” Sorokin was quoted as saying.
For now, India has received clarification from the U.S. that the Russian oil tankers sanctioned last month are allowed to discharge their crude at Indian ports until February 27.
While the U.S. clarification could be a relief for India for this month, it is not certain how trade will proceed going forward.
Indian refiners are already scrambling for supply for arrival after February.
India will continue to buy Russian oil if it is sold below the $60 per barrel price cap and delivered on non-sanctioned tankers and without any involvement of sanctioned companies or individuals, Indian officials have said.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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