While the Western world keeps imposing new anti-Russian sanctions, Asian consumers of Russia’s energy products are taking advantage of the situation, buying commodities at a cheaper price.
In the light of Western sanctions, including the ban on imports of Russian oil and gas, fuel supplies to the Asian region have increased markedly, with China being the main beneficiary. The country receives natural gas from Russia directly through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, paying less than $200 a 1,000 cubic meters. India is lagging not far behind. The country cannot boast of large volumes so far but it has already expanded the imports of oil from Russia. In March, oil supplies quadrupled to 360,000 barrels a day on a yearly basis.
India used to purchase CPC crude oil, a mixture of Kazakh and Russian oil, according to experts at Kpler. In March, however, following a ban on Russian oil and gas imports, India shifted the focus of its attention to Russia's most popular crude oil blend for export, Urals. Moreover, the blend now sells at a deep discount. “Already committed oil cargoes from Russia that cannot find buyers in Europe are being bought by India. Exports to India surged before any official announcement by New Delhi,” Alex Booth, the head of research at Kpler, said.
“Indian companies weren't sourcing much from Russia given high shipping costs. I think that all three state-owned refiners will purchase oil from Russia given how import-dependent and politically sensitive energy is for Indians,” Vivekanand Subbaraman, research analyst at Ambit Capital, pointed out.
