On January 2, the Spanish newspaper "The Economist" published an article entitled "The Idylle Between India and Russia Begins to Break, Oil is the Protagonist", which is excerpted as follows:
India is still hesitating: Russia or the West. The fact is that New Delhi wants to maintain relations with both sides, but the US and G7 sanctions on Russian oil have complicated things very much. There are a number of these sanctions, the most notable of which is the cap on *** originating in Russia, which puts India in a dilemma.
India wants to seek a healthy relationship with Moscow to get cheap oil, but at the same time it is eager to side with the West. India has strong competitors in its own region, so it is crucial for India to have the support of the United States. Now, India's doubts, combined with the intensification of sanctions, are leading to tensions in commercial relations between Russia and India, with oil playing a leading role.
Against this backdrop, India's imports from its largest oil country, Russia, were at their lowest level since December 2023 to January 2023. Earlier, Russia**, citing information from data intelligence company Kepler, said that six tankers carrying Russian Sokol** could not be delivered due to payment problems amid tighter sanctions.
After rising to an all-time high of 2.15 million b/d in May 2023, India's oil imports from Russia fluctuated to a steep decline between November and December to 1.48 million b/d in December, Kepler data showed. This suggests that India may be losing interest in Russian oil, especially now that oil prices are below $80 per barrel and Russian discounts are less attractive.
Indian refiners bought an average of 140,000 barrels per day of Russian sokol** in 2023 but were unable to receive any such cargoes last month. Katona, the chief analyst of Kepler, said in an email a few days ago that the company mining from the Russian Far East failed to open a bank account in the UAE as agreed, resulting in buyers being unable to pay in UAE dirhams.
Experts say two of the six tankers sitting idle off India's coast say they may be rerouted to China. Despite the obstacles, it is likely that the Sokol *** between Russia and India will continue.
For the whole of 2023, India's oil imports from Russia more than doubled year-on-year to 1.79 million barrels per day, while India's oil imports from Iraq, the second-largest country, fell 11% to 90., according to Kepler data80,000 barrels per day. (Compiled by Han Chao).