Moscow/London (Reuters) – Russian oil exports to India are expected to increase in September, resellers said, as New Delhi challenges the United States punitive tariffs designed to force the country to interrupt trade and push Moscow into a peace agreement with Ukraine.
India became the largest buyer of Russian oil supplies who were displaced by Western sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. This allowed Indian refineries to benefit from the cheaper oil.
But purchases attracted the condemnation of the government of US President Donald Trump, who increased US tariffs on Indian imports to 50% on Wednesday.
Unique opportunity
Legacy Card: Far beyond a service
Nova Delhi says he is relying on negotiations to try to resolve Trump’s additional fees, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi also boarded a tour to develop diplomatic ties elsewhere, including a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US officials accused India of profiting from the Discount Russian oil, while Indian authorities accused the West of two pesos and two measures because the European Union and the US still buy Russian products in billions of dollars.
“Tariffs are part of a broader commercial discussion between India and the US and, given the increase in India’s domestic refineries in the midst of discounted Russian barrels, we do not see India eliminating its Russian imports in significant volumes,” BNP Paribas said in a note.
Continues after advertising
The Indian Ministry of Oil did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Without India, Russia would have difficulty maintaining exports at current levels, and this would reduce oil export revenues that finance Kremlin’s budget and Russia’s continuous war in Ukraine.
Three commercial sources involved in oil sales to India said Indian refineries would increase Russian oil purchases by September by 10% to 20% compared to August levels, or at 150,000 to 300,000 barrels per day.
Continues after advertising
The sources, which cited preliminary purchasing data, could not be identified because they were not allowed to talk publicly about the matter.
The two largest Russian oil buyers for India, Reliance and Nayara Energy, who is mostly Russian owned, did not immediately respond to a commentary request.
Russia has more oil to export next month because the planned and unplanned refineries have reduced its ability to process oil in fuel. Ukraine has attacked 10 Russian refineries in recent days, taking up to 17% of the country’s refining capacity.
Continues after advertising
In the first 20 days of August, India imported 1.5 million barrels per day of Russian oil, with no change compared to July, but slightly below an average of 1.6 million BPD from January to June, according to data from Vortexa analysts.
Volumes are about 1.5% of the global supply, making India the largest sea -carried sea buyer, which serves about 40% of India’s oil needs. China and Turkey are also major buyers of Russian oil.
(Report of Reuters reporters in Moscow, London and Nova Dhéli, additional report by Seher Dareen, Alex Lawler’s edition)
