India and China have bought oil, gas and coal worth $24 billion from Russia in only three months after its invasion of Ukraine. Out of this, India spent $5.1 billion on Russian oil, gas and coal, more than five times the value of a year ago, according to a Bloomberg report.
China spent $18.9 billion in the three months to the end of May, almost double the amount a year earlier. The $24 billion is an extra $13 billion in revenue for Russia from both countries compared to the same months in 2021.
“China is already buying essentially everything that Russia can export via pipelines and Pacific ports… India has been the main buyer of the cargoes out of the Atlantic that Europe doesn’t want anymore,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, who has been tracking Russian energy flows since the war broke out, according to the report.
Crude Oil Imports From Russia
Russia has been offering big discounts on its energy exports, which prompted India to buy more from the country. Russian oil arrivals into India for May were at 740,000 barrels a day, up from 284,000 barrels in April and 34,000 barrels a year earlier, according to data from Kpler.
Recently, another Bloomberg report said India is looking at purchasing more low-cost Russian oil from Rosneft PJSC. These deals were over and above the purchases India already made through other deals.
“State processors are collectively working on finalising and securing new six-month supply contracts for Russian crude to India… Cargoes are being sought on a delivered basis from Rosneft, with the seller set to handle shipping and insurance matters,” the report had said.
India imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil requirements. The country imported 193.5 million tonnes of crude oil in the current financial year till February, at a cost of $105.8 billion. The crude oil in the country mainly comes from the Middle East and the US. From Russia, in the whole year 2021, the country bought just 12 million barrels of the oil, which is only 2 per cent of its total imports. India’s own domestic production is more than that.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a special military operation in Ukraine’s Donbass region on February 24, the Brent crude oil prices hit USD 100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. In the following days, the US’ West Texas Intermediate crude futures even skyrocketed to $130.50 a barrel, its highest since July 2008, before retreating. Brent also hit a high of $139.13, also its highest since July 2008.
In April, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, “When oil prices go up, it’s natural for countries to look for good deals for their people… I’m pretty sure if we wait 2-3 months and look at the big buyers of Russian gas and oil, I suspect the list won’t be any different than what it used to be & we won’t be in the top-10.”
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