US Sanctions Hit Russia's Oil Exports, India Responds
Indian refineries, the second-largest buyer of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine, will cease accepting deliveries from the Russian state-owned company Sovcomflot.
This follows recent sanctions imposed by the United States against Moscow, as reported by Bloomberg. This decision is expected to gradually lead to a decline in oil revenues for the Kremlin.
Reuters reports that several Indian refineries may renounce Russian oil owned by Sovcomflot, a move prompted by the latest US sanctions. Indian refineries seek to avoid involvement with entities that are directly or indirectly sanctioned, aiming to prevent any adverse reaction from Washington.
This decision will further complicate Russia's oil exports. Its oil companies may struggle to find ships to sell surplus oil following recent Ukrainian drone attacks on state-owned Russian refineries, Reuters states.
Notably, starting in October of last year, the United States imposed a series of sanctions against entities, shippers, traders, and ships for violating a price cap on Russian oil. Despite these sanctions, Russia has continued to export substantial amounts of oil.
According to the agency, Russia can still resort to the so-called "shadow fleet" of older, uninsured ships to export crude oil and circumvent international sanctions. Some estimates suggest there are 600 such ships, comprising roughly 10% of the global number of large tankers.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
