India pays 'market price' for Russian oil supplies

By Rhod Mackenzie

The Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, confirmed that the country purchases Russian oil at market prices. The decrease in purchases is due to the fact that oil from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq is currently cheaper. According to the managing director of Rusenergoproekt, Maxim Kanishchev, who commented to RIA Novosti.
The Minister of Petroleum Industry of India, Puri, confirmed that Russian oil is bought and sold at market prices without any ceiling. This is the same price at which oil is sold by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq, to which sanctions do not apply. According to the expert, the price of oil from these countries has been even lower in recent months, resulting in a slight decrease in oil purchases from Russia.

In an interview with Bloomberg on the eve of Puri, he commented on delays in Russian oil shipments. He explained that the country purchases oil at ports, so delivery difficulties may arise due to sanctions, including price ceilings. However, he noted that India selects suppliers of the cheapest oil through tenders. Therefore, if Russian oil is not the cheapest, the country buys it from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Puri stated that if India had not purchased oil from Russia, global oil prices would have increased to $250 per barrel.
Kanishchev noted that India reduced purchases of Russian oil by about 15%, or 200 thousand tons per day, at the end of 2023.

According to Kpler tracking data cited by Kommersant newspaper a week ago, delays in Sokol oil shipments from the Sakhalin-1 project that began in December continue, and a number of tankers loaded in December are idle at sea. The publication noted that cargoes of Sokol oil were traditionally sent to India. However, several November shipments from Sakhalin-1 were not shipped after arriving on the shores of India.

On December 5, 2022, Western countries imposed oil sanctions on the Russian Federation. The European Union ceased to accept Russian oil transported by sea, and the G7 countries, Australia, and the EU introduced a price limit of $60 per barrel for oil transport by sea. It is prohibited to transport and insure oil that is more expensive. In late 2023, the G7 and the European Union increased their oversight of adherence to the price ceiling and imposed sanctions on companies and individual tankers transporting Russian oil, purportedly in breach of the restrictions.