Specialists suggest that the main factor is the strengthening of US restrictions and a shift in the buying tactics of the foremost Indian petroleum processors.
India reduced purchases of Russian oil / © TSN.ua
Shipments of Russian petroleum to India might diminish to a three-year nadir this December. India is projected to take in roughly 1.1 million barrels of Russian petroleum daily this month, marking the lowest point since November 2022, as per Kpler, a maritime analytics company.
Bloomberg reports this.
It is highlighted that in recent times, the Indian need for Russian petroleum has slowly decreased amidst the toughening of US penalties.
Notably, the country’s most substantial private petroleum processor, Reliance, halted acquisitions of Russian petroleum in late October after the US levied sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, granting importers one month to finalize dealings with these entities.
Reliance has now redirected its attention to procuring petroleum from vendors not subject to sanction-related limitations.
According to Kpler, in the second ten-day period of December, Russian petroleum provisions to India dwindled to 712,000 barrels each day, after which volumes commenced a gradual resurgence. By contrast, in November, imports were calculated at 1.8 million barrels per day.
Indian authorities had earlier foretold that the average daily supply in December would hover around 800,000 barrels.
Experts attribute the import reduction largely to a break in purchases by Reliance, formerly the leading purchaser of Russian petroleum.
Further, as per Kpler, deliveries to the HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. petroleum terminal situated in Mundra have lessened. Simultaneously, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. will abstain from importing Russian petroleum entirely in December – a first since September 2022.
It had been previously stated that Russia is currently allocating a far smaller fraction of its financial resources to the conflict compared to Ukraine, yet its financial construct is steadily giving way, and sluggishness has persisted for over a year.
It was previously communicated that retired US Lieutenant General Ben Hodges indicated that Ukraine’s tactical approach for triumph centers on undermining Russia’s capacity to export petroleum and natural gas.