India refused to buy sanctioned Russian gas: details

India has refused to buy Russian liquefied natural gas, which is subject to US sanctions, even despite energy shortages due to the tense situation in the Middle East.

Reuters reports this.

This is LNG from the Russian Portovaya plant, which is located in the Baltic Sea and is under US sanctions.

As the agency notes, this position shows that India is trying to maintain a balance between its need for energy resources and the risk of violating the sanctions regime.

According to sources, in mid-April, the documents indicated India as the destination for the cargo, but unloading never took place.

The Kunpeng tanker, carrying about 138,000 cubic meters of gas, was heading to a terminal in Dahej in western India. The vessel is now near Singapore waters, with no further destination listed.

The agency’s interlocutors explain that it is much more difficult to hide LNG shipments than oil. While oil can be transferred from one ship to another simply at sea, gas shipments are easily tracked via satellites.

India is ready to buy Russian gas, which is not subject to sanctions, but most of this volume currently goes to Europe.

At the same time, China remains one of the largest buyers of both permitted and sanctioned Russian LNG.

It was previously reported that Indian refineries have increased purchases of Russian oil and plan to maintain high volumes until the end of the year due to a shortage of supplies from the Middle East.

Recall that Russia is threatened with a decrease in oil production, as Ukrainian attacks on ports, pipelines, and refineries have significantly reduced the Kremlin’s export capabilities.