As US sanctions on Russian oil loom, India prepares to end its crude buying spree

The last supertankers filled with Russian oil bound for India left their docks in the Black Sea about four weeks ago, racing to reach their destination before Friday, when U.S. sanctions on companies doing business with Russia’s two biggest oil firms are scheduled to take effect.

The last-minute stockpiling is expected to mark the end of India’s three-year buying spree of Russian oil. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Indian companies have snapped up discounted barrels of its crude, capitalizing on depressed prices after restrictions imposed by the European Union narrowed demand.