India buying Russian oil irrespective of US sanctions waivers
What's the story
India has been buying Russian oil regardless of the United States's sanctions waivers, a senior official from the petroleum ministry said on Monday. "Regarding American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasize that we have been purchasing from Russia before waiver also, during waiver, and now also," Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the petroleum ministry, said. "It is basically the commercial sense which should be there for us to purchase... There is no shortage of crude," she emphasized.
Waiver expiration
US let Russian oil purchase waiver lapse
The comments come after the United States allowed a waiver on some Russian crude purchases to expire over the weekend. The waiver had allowed transactions involving Russian oil cargoes already loaded on tankers. The first waiver was issued in March and later expanded through an authorization valid until May 16 to help ease pressure on global oil prices through additional supply.
Supply management
Indian refiners to manage supply disruptions
According to a Bloomberg report, Indian refiners are likely to manage any supply disruptions due to weaker domestic demand and prompt crude cargo availability from the US, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iraq. Traders told Bloomberg that China's limited participation in the spot market has also helped preserve supply availability. Maintenance shutdowns at Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy Ltd. have further reduced purchases by private refiners.
Import levels
India's Russian oil imports expected to remain near peak levels
Kpler data cited by Bloomberg showed India's Russian oil imports in May are expected to remain near 1.9 million barrels per day, close to peak levels. This comes as Russian crude held in floating storage has risen to over seven million barrels globally, up fivefold from a month ago, partly because refinery maintenance in India slowed processing demand.
Market dynamics
India unlikely to move away from Russian crude
Sumit Ritolia, modeling and refining manager at Kpler Ltd., told Bloomberg that there are limited alternatives available at a similar scale and pricing in a market still dealing with geopolitical uncertainty and uneven Middle Eastern flows. "India is unlikely to move away from Russian crude in the near term," he said.
Reserve status
Indian refiners hopeful of US extending waiver again
Indian refiners are also reportedly hopeful that Washington could extend the waiver again, Bloomberg reported. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said in April that the waiver would not be renewed, but the administration later issued another short-term extension. India has around 60 days of crude oil and LNG reserves and 45 days of LPG stockpiles, according to Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri.