US sanction clarifications a tight squeeze for India's Feb oil supplies

Cargoes must be loaded before Jan 10 to evade sanction laws: Treasury Dept

Indian refiners have less time than they expected earlier to receive sanctioned tankers, prompting aggressive purchase of spot supplies of Middle East grades for February deliveries and some March shipments. A sudden demand for cargoes from mainly India and China has more than tripled premiums on alternative crude oils compared to trades prior to January 10, when the US imposed debilitating sanctions on Russian energy flows to cripple Moscow.

 

Refiners led by Reliance Industries and Indian Oil have until February 27 to wind up transactions with sanctioned Russian tankers, opaque traders, a shadow fleet, and important insurers, an official from