Fuels from Russian oil gets backdoor entry into Europe via India

Record high imports of crude oil from Russia in fiscal 2022-23 helped India’s refiners boost exports of diesel and jet fuel to Europe as the continent shunned Russian products, preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa showed.

Access to cheap Russian crude has boosted output and profits at Indian refineries, enabling them to export refined products competitively to Europe and take bigger market share.

Europe typically imported an average of 154,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel and jet fuel from India before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reported Reuters.

That increased to 200,000 bpd after the European Union banned Russian oil products imports from Feb. 5, Kpler data showed. India’s imports of Russian crude in March rose for the seventh straight month to end out the fiscal year as top supplier to India, displacing Iraq for the first time, the data showed.