India Continues Buying Russian Oil Despite Expiry of US Sanctions Waiver

India Continues to Buy Russian Oil Despite Expiry of US Waiver

India has maintained its oil imports from Russia, a senior government official stated on Monday. Despite the expiration of the 30-day waiver issued by the US in mid-March, which allowed India and other countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and products at sea, the country continues to purchase crude from Moscow.

The US waiver, which was later renewed until May 16, enabled India to purchase oil from sanctioned entities, including Lukoil and Rosneft. However, India had never stopped buying oil from Russia prior to the waiver, and the country's oil marketing companies have continued to do so.

In an effort to diversify its oil sourcing amid disruptions in supplies from the Middle East, India is also increasing its oil purchases from the US, Venezuela, Oman, Brazil, and Angola. The country's decision to continue buying Russian oil is driven by commercial sense, as there is no shortage of crude and sufficient supplies have been secured.

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Table: Comparison of India's Oil Imports

Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the petroleum ministry, emphasized that the waiver or lack thereof should not affect India's oil supplies. She noted that state-run oil marketing companies are incurring losses of Rs 750 crore per day after raising retail fuel prices last week, compared to Rs 1,000 crore losses incurred daily prior to the hike.

The oil marketing companies increased the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre across the country on Friday in an attempt to offset some of the losses being incurred. Prior to the hike, the companies were losing Rs 1,000 crore per day, implying under recoveries of Rs 198,000 crore and cumulative losses for the quarter of Rs 1 lakh crore.

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