Record amounts of Russian crude are found in tankers bound for India and China, as other countries restrict imports due to the war in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
In particular, 74 to 79 million barrels of Russian crude were in transit in the two countries last week, almost three times the 27 million barrels in February before the invasion of Ukraine, according to data analysis firm Kpler.
Last month, Asia overtook Russia for the first time as the largest buyer of oil from Russia and its lead is expected to expand in May, according to Kpler data.
The sharp jump in Russian oil transit underscores the turmoil in global energy trade after the invasion, as the US, UK and many EU companies cut off imports from Moscow, which has turned to buyers in Asia.
As Kpler analyst Jane Xie notes, “some of the buyers in Asia are more motivated by financial incentives rather than political positions.”
She added, however, that “US interest in India’s purchases from Russia has increased and there may therefore be some downside risks to these flows, although they are unlikely to decline significantly at this time.”
In any case, Russian oil flows to Asia’s top two buyers, India and China, hit record highs in April, largely due to rising Indian markets, according to Xie.
Although shipments this month are likely to be slightly lower, they will still be just behind last month’s record, he added.
Source: Capital
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