Indian refiners are now refusing to take delivery of crude transported by Sovcomflot tankers in an evident bid to steer clear of any secondary sanction risk
Tightening sanctions from the United States (US) and other Western powers on Russia’s oil trade appear to have had no impact so far on India’s Russian oil purchases, with delivered volumes in March rising over 6 per cent over February levels to a four-month high of nearly 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd), accounting for a third of New Delhi’s total oil imports for the month, as per preliminary data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler.
In the latest action against oil tankers over alleged violation of the G7 price cap of $60 per barrel on seaborne Russian crude, the US on February 23 sanctioned Russia’s state-owned shipping major Sovcomflot along with 14 tankers associated with it.
