India buys 34 million barrels Russian oil at discounted price

According to a Reuters report, India has received 34 million barrels of discounted Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022. This has more than trebled the value of total imports from Russia, including other products, compared with the same period of 2021.

The volume of India's seaborne oil imports from Russia exclude CPC Blend oil, which is also exported via Russia's Black Sea port, but mostly supplied by Kazakhstan's subsidiaries of western countries as transit volumes.

India's oil imports from Russia have been rising since February this year, as Asia's third-largest economy and the world's third-biggest oil importer, turned to deeply discounted Russian oil, mostly Urals crude, to cut its energy imports bill.

India received more than 24 million barrels of Russian crude oil in May 2022, up from 7.2 million barrels in April and about 3 million barrels in March. The quantity is set to rise to about 28 million barrels in June.

Surging energy imports helped push India's total goods imports from Russia between February 24 and May 26 this year to US$6.4 billion, as compared to US$1.99 billion in the same period last year.

India's exports to Russia fell nearly 50% to US$377 million over that period, as its government is yet to set up a formal payment mechanism.

As the West responded to the invasion with a barrage of sanctions, India has come under fire for its continued purchases of Russian energy.

New Delhi has brushed off the criticism, saying those imports made only a fraction of the country's overall needs and has said it will keep buying cheap Russian oil, arguing a sudden stop would drive up costs for its consumers.

Russian and Indian energy companies have also been discussing term supply agreements and possible acquisitions of stakes in Russian oil and gas projects.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has once again praised India for buying discounted oil from Russia despite being a key member of a US-led alliance called QUAD.

“Despite being part of QUAD, India sustained pressure from the US and bought discounted Russian oil to provide relief to the masses,” Khan wrote in a tweet.

“This is what our government was working to achieve with the help of an independent foreign policy,” he added.

In a second tweet, Khan claimed that for his government, “Pakistan’s interest was supreme but unfortunately the local Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs bowed to external pressure, forcing a regime change and are now running around like a headless chicken with the economy in a tailspin”.

Khan also tagged to his tweet a South Asia Index report, saying: “After buying discounted oil from Russia, the Indian government reduced petrol price by 9.5 Indian rupees per litre, Diesel price was also reduced by 7 rupees per litre.”

Michael Kugelman, a scholar of South Asian affairs at the Wilson Centre, Washington, also referred to this report, saying: “This is why Khan was praising India during his final days as PM.”

Khan wanted to import wheat and eventually gas from Russia.