India plans to significantly reduce the purchase of Russian oil

Recently, the main buyer of Russian oil was India, where half of the volume of oil exported by tankers from the ports of the Russian Federation was supplied. However, the other day, India's Energy Minister Hardeep Puri said that the country plans to sharply reduce imports of Russian oil and reduce dependence on the Russian Federation.

He said that Indian refineries, which after the start of the war increased their purchase of Russian oil by more than 40 times, which provided half of oil imports, will switch to supplies of oil from the Middle East, the prices of which have now become much more attractive.

Oil from the Russian Federation rose in price after the President of the Russian Federation decided to limit discounts on it. According to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the average sale price of Urals oil is now $64.37/barrel, which exceeds the price limit set by the G7 countries, although at the beginning of the year the prices were $50/barrel, and at the end of 2022 they slightly exceeded $40/barrel .

Indian authorities have also warned oil refineries about the need to strictly adhere to Western sanctions against the Russian Federation, Puri emphasized.

India sharply cut imports of cheap Russian oil in August as monsoon rains dampened demand and refiners began making routine maintenance.