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India’s spend on Russian oil buy at €2.5 billion in October ahead of new sanctions
India, the second-biggest buyer of Russian oil, spent as much as €2.5 billion on purchases of crude oil from Moscow in October, ahead of new sanctions being slapped on Russian entities, a European think tank has said.
October 22, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of the largest oil producers in Russia, to cut off the Kremlin’s resources for funding the Ukraine war. The sanctions have resulted in companies like Reliance Industries, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd halting imports for now.
Russia shipped 60 million barrels of crude oil in October, with Rosneft and Lukoil together accounting for 45 million barrels.
“India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, importing a total of €3.1 billion. Crude oil dominated India’s purchases at 81% (€2.5 billion), followed by coal at 11% €351 million) and oil products at 7% (€222 million),” CREA said in its monthly tracking report.
Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion.
Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts. As a result, India’s Russian crude imports surged from under 1% to nearly 40% of its total crude oil imports in a short span.
In September, India had spent a total of €3.6 billion- €2.5 billion on crude oil, €452 million on coal and €344 million on oil products.
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