NEW DELHI: India is no longer the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil as it has been forced to reject certain cargoes due to sanctions, allowing China to lap up the commodity at deeply discounted prices.
China imported 1.82 million barrels a day (mb/d) of Russian crude by sea in March, a third more than India’s 1.36 mb/d, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. China also receives Russian oil through pipelines.India’s monthly imports of seaborne Russian crude exceeded that of China for about one and a half years. In February, however, China’s 1.3 mb/d of imports from Russia, marginally surpassed India’s 1.27 mb/d. In March, the gap substantially widened.
