President Putin reveals Rosneft's plans in India, why is New Delhi reducing its purchases of Russian oil?

The country's largest oil producer - Rosneft - plans to expand its presence in the Indian market and build a refinery there, President Vladimir Putin said on January 25.

Tổng thống Putin tiết lộ kế hoạch của Rosneft tại Ấn Độ, New Delhi giảm mua dầu Nga vì lý do gì?

The logo of Rosneft Group at its headquarters in Moscow, Russia. (Source: AFP)

Mr. Putin said that Rosneft corporation has invested 23 billion USD in buying a network of gas stations and ports in India.

India is the world's third largest consumer of crude oil after the United States and China. It imports 85 percent of its oil needs. Previously, India's main suppliers were from the Middle East. Currently, Russia is India's number one supplier.

After Russia was sanctioned by the West over its military campaign in Ukraine, India and China became the country's top oil customers.

In fact, many countries in Africa also import Russian crude oil at a deep discount, including Ghana, Libya, Tunisia, Togo, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Senegal and even Nigeria.

The low price of Russian crude relative to international benchmarks has encouraged buying from both Africa and Asia. Russia’s top crude, Urals, has traded at a discount of about $20 a barrel to Dated Brent for most of last year.

However, New Delhi reduced crude oil imports from Moscow in December 2023. Bloomberg news agency said that this decrease was due to payment issues.

As Western sanctions make it difficult to arrange vessels, insurance and payments, many Indian refiners have to pay for Moscow's oil upon delivery.

In December 2023, India's oil ministry said its refineries were complying with the $60-a-barrel price ceiling imposed by the United States and its allies on Russian oil.

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