India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end

Russian oil now trades above the G-7 price cap, leaving India searching for creative solutions to fill the breach

India’s unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis — after Washington's warning to transgressors last week.

Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set