Times of India learned about the reduction of discounts on Russian oil by 87%

Discounts on Russian oil for Indian refineries have fallen to $4 per barrel after peaks of $25-30, and sellers are waiving shipment tariffs to cover the gap with benchmark Brent crude and bypass the Western price ceiling, writes The Times of India, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Currently, Russian oil accounts for about 40% of all India's oil imports , while before the conflict in Ukraine , the figure was less than 2%, recalls The Times of India.

Indian oil refiners buy Russian oil on a delivery basis (the terms of a deal for the distribution of responsibilities between the seller and the buyer), while the seller arranges delivery and insurance so as not to fall under sanctions . This aspect has become "even more important" after Western countries set a ceiling on the price of oil supplied from Russia at $60 per barrel, the newspaper notes.

“This, and the fragmented purchases of refineries, especially state-owned enterprises, are what sellers of Russian oil take advantage of. They collect $11-19 freight from the ports of the Baltic or Black Seas, which is almost twice the norm, and oil is set at a price of $1-2 below the price ceiling, ”a source who participated in the auction told the publication.

According to him, Indian buyers may soon lose the discount altogether if oil prices continue to decline and close the gap with the price cap of the West. “Three obscure agencies dominate the shipping and insurance offers submitted by Russia for deliveries to India. They are not affiliated with global companies. Thus, they can easily play tenders and bring the cost of Russian oil closer to the price of the standard - now it is $ 75-76, ”said the source of the newspaper.

Against the backdrop of Western sanctions, Russia redirected about 20% of the oil supplied to Europe to Asian markets, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported at the end of April. According to him, exports to India increased 19 times last year.

According to Bloomberg estimates , Russian oil deliveries to India reached a new record in June: last month they amounted to 2.2 million barrels. in a day. This is more than half of India's total oil imports. For comparison: a year earlier, the share of Russian oil in India was 16.5%.

Reuters wrote in early July that Moscow and Delhi began to pay for part of their oil imports from Russia in Chinese yuan, as the trade imbalance between the countries reached record levels - $ 51 billion in imports to India against $ 10.6 billion to Russia.