Ukraine war: India, China and other Asian nations growing markets for shunned Russian oil

India has guzzled nearly 60 million barrels of Russian oil in 2022, compared with 12 million barrels in all of 2021, according to commodity data firm Kpler

China’s imports have also risen, helping Russia record a current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, of US$96 billion for 4 months ending in April

Reading Time:4 minutes

Published: 1:33pm, 13 Jun 2022

India and other Asian nations are becoming an increasingly vital source of oil revenues for Moscow despite strong pressure from the US not to increase their purchases, as the European Union and other allies cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine.

Such sales are boosting Russian export revenues at a time when Washington and allies are trying to limit financial flows supporting Moscow’s war effort.

India, an oil-hungry country of 1.4 billion people, has guzzled nearly 60 million barrels of Russian oil in 2022 so far, compared with 12 million barrels in all of 2021, according to commodity data firm Kpler. Shipments to other Asian countries, like China, have also increased in recent months but to a lesser extent.

In an interview with Associated Press, Sri Lanka’s prime minister said he may be compelled to buy more oil from Russia as he hunts desperately for fuel to keep the country running amid a dire economic crisis.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday said he would first look to other sources, but would be open to buying more crude from Moscow. In late May, Sri Lanka bought a 90,000-metric-ton (99,000-ton) shipment of Russian crude to restart its only refinery.