India's crude security holds as refiners pivot from sanctioned suppliers

With the November 21 deadline now past, India's Russian crude inflows are easing but not collapsing as refiners pivot to non-sanctioned suppliers, tap alternatives and benefit from soft global prices

The story of India’s oil imports from Russia is playing out rather less dramatically than feared, now that the November 21 deadline for countries to stop importing oil from Russian entities such as Rosneft and Lukoil has passed. 

The question of Western sanctions on Russian oil imports is set to figure prominently when President Vladimir Putin arrives in India today on a high-profile, 30-hour visit. India’s oil imports soared when Russia began offering discounted crude to get around Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

 

But energy-hungry India must now taper its Russian oil imports following mounting