India is cutting back on Russian crude for December amid US sanctions and trade talks, with five major refiners halting purchases, reports Rakesh Sharma of Bloomberg. The move follows Trump’s tariffs and sanctions on Russian oil producers, while India seeks alternatives from the U.S. and Persian Gulf suppliers. Only two refiners continue to make limited Russian imports under strict compliance checks. Sharma writes:
India has scaled back purchases of Russian crude for arrival in December, showing that Western sanctions and trade talks with the US are having a major impact on buying patterns.
Five big Indian refiners haven’t placed any orders for Russia oil for next month, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named due the sensitivity of the trade. Typically, deals for crude for the following month are done by the 10th of the current month.
The shift in purchasing by the world’s third-largest oil importer comes after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on all Indian imports to 50% in August, and then sanctioned Russia’s two biggest oil producers — Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC — last month. India had become heavily reliant on discounted Russian crude over the last few years, and faced US accusations that it was helping to fund the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. […]
Their caution may be partially due to trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. Trump said Monday the two countries were getting “pretty close” to a deal. India has pledged to buy more crude from the US as part of the talks, the people said. […]
Refiners have also reached out to traditional suppliers in the Persian Gulf to make up for the lost Russian barrels. State-owned processors met with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. executives on the sidelines of an industry conference in Abu Dhabi last week and secured supply assurances, according to people familiar with the talks.
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