India named its version of reducing Russian oil supplies
The reduction in Russian oil supplies to India in December 2023 was not due to payment problems, but to the unattractiveness of discounts. This, according to Bloomberg, was stated at a briefing by Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The version of the reduction in India's oil purchases in Russia due to sanctions that prevent payments is not true, said the Minister of Oil.
Earlier, the agency, citing data from the analytical company Kpler, reported that India's imports of Russian oil decreased in December to the lowest level since January 2023. This was due to payment problems, as Washington strengthened control over compliance with sanctions, including a price ceiling of $60 per barrel of Russian oil, Bloomberg claimed.
"There are no problems with payment," Puri said. "This is a pure price function at which our processors will buy," Puri explained. According to the minister, the country needs 5 million barrels of oil per day, of which 1.5 million comes from Russia, and this, the minister stressed, indicates that there are no problems with payment.
The agency notes that Puri in his response did not mention the ceiling of oil prices imposed by the G7 as a sanction against Russia.
India is one of the largest importers of crude oil in Asia and has become a major buyer of Russian hydrocarbons after the start of the military operation in Ukraine and the tightening of sanctions against Russia.
On December 21, Bloomberg reported that tankers with 5 million barrels of Russian Sokol oil, which were carrying cargo to India, were idle a few miles from the shore. By that time, in some cases, the delay had already reached four weeks.
According to the agency, the delay may be due to U.S. sanctions: in October, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Ministry of Finance (OFAC) imposed restrictions against two companies from the UAE and Turkey for transporting Russian oil in violation of the price ceiling imposed by the G7 countries. In November and December, new sanctions followed; as Bloomberg notes, they affected eight courts.
In April 2023, Bloomberg reported that Indian banks recommend oil refineries not to buy Russian oil more expensive than the price ceiling imposed by Western countries. The State Bank of India and the Bank of Baroda informed local refineries that they would not make payments for oil purchased more than the limit.
In June, the agency reported that up to $1 billion in rupees are accumulated on the bank accounts of Russian companies in India every month, as these funds are almost impossible to spend due to currency restrictions in the country. In September, VTB Chairman of the Board Andrey Kostin said in an interview with RBC that large Russian banks - VTB and Sberbank - have already found ways to convert Indian rupees into rubles to return this foreign exchange export earnings to Russia.
