To Moscow’s disadvantage
USA: Want to make Russian oil cheaper for India
March 12, 2024, 7:56 p.m
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Russia and India are close partners, including in oil transactions. Since the war in Ukraine, New Delhi has become a grateful buyer of the raw material. Help will probably come from the USA of all places. Because they want to ensure lower prices – so that Moscow has less income.
According to a government adviser, the US is trying to drive down Russian prices for oil sales to India. President Joe Biden’s energy advisor, Amos Hochstein, spoke to the Reuters news agency about appropriate US measures in the wake of the Ukraine war. “At the end of the day, my goal is not to take it (the oil) off the market, I don’t want to take these tankers off the market, the crude, the product,” Hochstein said. Rather, India should be put in a position to negotiate better prices. “I think Indians understand what we want to do.” Lower prices squeeze profit margins for Russia.
In February, the US government imposed sanctions on Russia’s largest tanker operator, Sovcomflot. India subsequently expressed concern about supplies from Russia. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions that also capped the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel (159 liters). This applies when using Western services such as insurance.
As a result of these and other measures, more Russian oil is now being delivered to India by ship. The USA has declared that it does not want to endanger global oil supplies despite the sanctions.
In view of the sanctions, Russia says it sold almost all of its oil to China and India last year. China has around 45 to 50 percent, India’s share has risen from almost zero to 40 percent within two years, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak said at the end of December.