India temporarily halts purchases of Russian oil due to US pressure
Indian state-owned oil refiners are temporarily suspending purchases of Russian oil after economic pressure from the United States intensified, sparked by a new wave of tough tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration in response to India’s cooperation with Moscow.
This is reported by Bloomberg .
It is noted that Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are temporarily suspending spot purchases of Russian oil.
“India is suspending spot market purchases until it receives clear government guidance,” said sources familiar with the procurement plans, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Thursday, Indian Oil Corp. bought 5 million barrels of oil from the United States, Brazil and Libya. This is not the first deal in recent weeks with alternative suppliers.
Tensions over Indian purchases have increased after US President Donald Trump announced a doubling of tariffs on all Indian goods exported to the US, a move in direct response to India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Traders said the pause in purchases would affect supplies of Urals crude (Russia’s main crude) that were due to be loaded in October, with deliveries for August and September likely to go ahead as planned, barring new instructions from New Delhi.
Although the Indian government has not officially banned the purchase of Russian oil, sources said that companies have been asked to prepare plans to diversify supplies, including from the Middle East, the United States, and Africa.
“If supplies from Russia become difficult, the Middle East, with its geographical proximity and variety of oil grades, will become the main alternative, especially Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” said R. Ramachandran, former director of Bharat Petroleum Refinery.
At the peak of its purchases, India imported over 2 million barrels of Russian oil per day, although these supplies were virtually non-existent before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Private Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy Ltd., are currently staying away from active purchases. Nayara Energy has also reduced its refining volumes due to EU sanctions.
By the way, the Nayara Energy refinery in India, which has been hit by EU sanctions, has asked the government to help solve the problem of fuel transportation . The Nayara Energy refinery is one of the largest private plants in India, with a stake in it owned by the Russian company Rosneft.
As a reminder, US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of new tariffs for India : from August 1, the country will have to pay 25%. He explained that India buys most of its military equipment from Russia and, together with China, is one of the largest consumers of Russian energy.
It is worth adding that Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India will be able to meet its oil needs from alternative sources if Russian supplies are cut off by US sanctions.
Earlier, India’s state-owned oil refining companies temporarily stopped purchasing Russian oil after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on countries that continue to buy energy resources from Moscow.
Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.