India has bought about 30 million barrels of unsold Russian crude after the United States issued a 30-day waiver allowing the country to buy shipments already stranded at sea, Bloomberg reported citing sources.According to the report, Indian refiners acted quickly to secure available cargoes, many of which were already positioned in Asian waters, offering an immediate alternative as disruptions affected oil flows from the Middle East.
India had previously reduced its purchases of Russian oil, replacing some of those supplies with crude from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Although New Delhi has never officially said that it would stop buying Russian oil and a significant volume continues to flow. Although overall import levels had decreased in recent months.Since then, the growing conflict in the Middle East has disrupted traditional supply routes, and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was severely affected after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.Although the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes, only about 40% of India’s crude oil imports pass through it. Still, the disruption has pushed Indian refiners to secure alternative crude supplies to maintain stable energy flows.
Indian refineries act quickly to secure cargoes
Following the waiver, Indian refiners, including Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries, bought almost all Russian cargoes available on the spot market, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.Much of the crude had already been loaded onto tankers and was moving through Asian waters, but had not yet been committed to buyers.Traders said Indian Oil bought about 10 million barrels, while Reliance bought at least another 10 million barrels, with other Indian refiners picking up the remaining volumes. Russian crude oil offered included a variety of grades such as Ural, ESPO and Varandey. Prices were offered at premiums of between $2 and $8 per barrel over London’s Dated Brent benchmark, a sharp turnaround from previous months, when Russian oil was trading at discounts to the global benchmark.The increase in purchases comes amid major disruptions to global energy supplies caused by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, which connects Gulf oil producers to global markets, has been effectively closed since US and Israeli attacks on Iran began, limiting access to Middle East crude.The disruption has forced importers like India to quickly secure alternative supplies.
Oil tankers change course towards India
Several tankers that had initially been sailing away from the subcontinent have changed course towards India following the exemption.Among them are the ships Maylo and Sarah, which recently changed their destination from Singapore and are now heading to Indian ports, according to shipping data cited by Bloomberg.India traditionally imported little Russian oil before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but buying increased after Western sanctions forced Moscow to offer deeply discounted crude.At their peak in mid-2024, Indian imports of Russian oil exceeded 2 million barrels per day. However, purchases fell to around 1.06 million barrels per day in February, according to data from analysis firm Kpler, as India reduced its purchases under pressure from Washington.
US says waiver is temporary
The United States previously described the waiver as a temporary measure aimed at stabilizing global energy markets during the ongoing Middle East crisis.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was aimed at addressing short-term supply disruptions.Responding to a question about the waiver, Leavitt said: “They made this decision because our allies in India have been good actors and previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil,” he said. “So while we work to appease this temporary gap in oil supplies around the world due to the Iranians, we have temporarily allowed them to accept that Russian oil and this Russian oil was already in the sea,” he added.He noted that the shipments would not increase Russia’s revenue and stated that “it was already in the water. So we do not believe that this short-term measure will provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government at this time.”