Despite the sanctions, Europe continues to buy Russian oil. But it does so not directly, but through India. This was reported by the British newspaper The Independent.
According to Kpler market data analysed by The Independent, India became the world’s top importer of Russian crude last year, importing an average of 1.75 million barrels per day, up 140% from 2022. Delhi’s imports of Russian crude oil more than doubled in 2023. At the same time, European Union imports of refined products from India rose 115 per cent, from 111,000 bpd in 2022 to 231,800 bpd in 2023, the highest in seven years.
Kpler lead analyst Matt Smith told the newspaper that India “was able to buy cheap oil for its refineries, then it was able to refine that oil and sell refined products at full price”.
“The fact that barrels of Russian-origin oil still flow to Europe through a third market highlights the porous nature of the sanctions and the lack of robust enforcement measures,” the paper wrote.
Companies that track oil trade explain that it is impossible to understand where the refined oil came from.
Besides, Europe’s dependence on Russian raw materials is obvious. Last year, 20 out of 27 EU countries bought Russian oil through India, the newspaper notes. According to Smith, Europe is trying to sit on two chairs, wanting to reduce Moscow’s profits from oil sales, but at the same time keep Russian oil on the market, as its absence would cause serious “economic damage”.
Earlier, the British newspaper The Telegraph, citing Eurostat, reported that despite the sanctions against Russia, EU countries imported €6.1bn worth of Russian liquefied natural gas in 2023 – more than half of all exports from Russia.