India has pivoted back to Iraq for its crude oil supplies with Russian imports held up by the Red Sea shut-in as well as the threat of US sanctions.
Data from Kpler shows India has been importing a record 1.3m barrels per day from Iraq this month.
Russia had become India’s top supplier of crude oil after the country started offering heavy discounts on its crude post the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, something that transformed the global tanker trades over the past two years. This Russian dominance is now fading, however.
The Indian minister of petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh, indicated earlier in January that Russian oil had lost its price advantage compared to Iraq’s crude oil.
As well as the issues faced by the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, sanctions are making Russian shipments to India more tricky.
According to Vortexa analysis, there has been no Sokol crude discharged in India for the past two months, largely thanks to sanctions on Sovcomflot affiliated Sun Ship Management.
A total of 14 tankers with oil from Russia have been waiting for shipment because of problems with payment with the Indian side refusing to pay for oil in dollars for fear of falling under US sanctions. They offer to pay in rupees, which the Russian side no longer accepts.