The United States exported in February the highest crude oil volumes to India in more than two years as Indian refiners scramble for alternative supply after the latest U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil trade.
Last month, U.S. crude oil exports to India jumped to 357,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to vessel-tracking data from Kpler cited by Reuters.
To compare, American crude exports averaged about 221,000 bpd throughout 2024.
India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, turned to alternative supply after the January 10 U.S. sanctions on dozens of Russian tankers, as well as on traders, middlemen, and insurance firms.
For India, which imports more than 80% of the crude it consumes daily, the costs have spiked and the cheap Russian barrels are disappearing as Indian refiners steer clear of tankers explicitly sanctioned by the U.S.
India is looking to diversify its crude supply after the sanctions early this year and bet on larger U.S. volumes for alternative light sweet barrels.
A total of 80% of the U.S. crude oil exported to India was light sweet West Texas Intermediate-Midland crude, per the Kpler data.
While India picked up more American barrels than at any month in the past two years, Indian imports of Russian crude oil slumped in February, to a two-year low.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the bans on Russian oil in the West, India has become a key buyer of Russian crude, alongside China. Russia, for its part, became the single biggest oil supplier to India.
Russia appears to be prioritizing deliveries to China and has been reshuffling its tanker fleet to service the Russia-China route at the expense of India, vessel-tracking data analyses have shown in recent weeks.
India will continue to buy Russian oil if it is sold below the $60 per barrel price cap and delivered on non-sanctioned tankers and without any involvement of sanctioned companies or individuals, Indian officials have said.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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