Despite US President Donald Trump’s assertion that India has promised to halt Russian crude oil imports, New Delhi will continue to procure the geopolitically sensitive commodity from non-sanctioned entities, including from Moscow. Moreover, analysts, trade sources and refiners said that a near-complete halt of supplies is extremely unlikely, at least in the next 2-3 months, adding that there is no official order from the government so far to stop buying crude oil from non-sanctioned Russian entities. Cargoes from Russia are booked about 10 weeks in advance. Currently, vessels transporting the commodity are at various stages of loading and transit, which means that cargoes booked 10 weeks prior will continue to offload at Indian ports, mostly on the west coast, till the end of March-April 2026. The trade deal is therefore unlikely to result in a near-term reduction in India’s Russian crude imports, as per a report.
Please visit our youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ikargos2719 for fortnightly logistics news analysis and more!