India, which was criticised by the US-led West for purchasing cheap Russian oil, has now become Europe’s biggest refined oil exporter.
This comes after India surpassed China and became the largest importer of Russian crude in June this year, suggesting that European countries are indirectly purchasing large volumes of oil which is originally sourced from Russia. The cheap import of crude oil from Russia has helped Indian refiners to export diesel and jet fuels to Europe.
A recent report by the analytics firm Kpler noted that India has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become Europe’s biggest supplier of refined fuel with 3,60,000 barrels/day of refined oil exports.
This comes after the Western sanctions have cut off direct oil flows from Russia to Europe and Indian export is predicted to exceed 3,60,000 barrels/day to help in filling the gap left by the Russian ban.
Despite the West’s stringent sanctions to prevent Russian oil from reaching the market, Russian oil is still finding its way into Europe. It has once again highlighted the fact that Sanctions have limitations, especially when bigger nations are at play.
India has been continuously buying cheap Russian oil citing its energy security. It has maintained a balance between the East and the West and has continued to purchase Russian oil and simultaneously enhanced partnership with the West by fostering closer defence and trade relationships.
It is important to note that before the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe imported around 154,000 barrels of oil per day from Indian refiners. Post the war, these imports surged to 200,000 after Russia was put under sanctions.
India, which has defied the Western sanctions on Russia has continued to meet its energy demands through Russian oil. It became the top importer of Russian oil with imports exceeding 2 million barrels a day in April this year, amounting to 44% of total oil imports. As per reports India’s crude imports from Russia are valued at USD 3.35 billion.
India’s unprecedented imports of crude oil from Russia played an instrumental role in stabilising the global energy markets. If all the countries had abided by the Western sanctions, then there would have been only limited resources left for oil imports. This would have caused a further rise in oil prices, which would have increased global inflation even more.
Apart from this, when the war in Ukraine started, Europe started buying oil from Middle Eastern countries on a large scale. These countries were also the main oil supplier to India and started giving priority to Europe instead of India for oil purchases because Europe was paying higher prices than India. In such a situation, India had no other option other than Russia.
