Oil is already at $80: India expects new US anti-Russian sanctions to hit its refineries

New US sanctions will hit Russian oil supplies to India. This is reported by Reuters, citing sources in the country's oil refining industry. The market has already reacted to future sanctions. Oil prices rose to $ 80 per barrel.

"Indian companies expect serious disruptions in the supply of Russian oil, as Washington will impose new sanctions to limit Moscow's revenues, forcing refineries to look for oil from the Middle East and the United States," Reuters reports, citing sources in the Indian oil refining industry.

According to the agency's interlocutors, managers of Indian refineries understand that the new US sanctions will primarily hit India, as they will be directed against more than 180 tankers carrying Russian oil and based in Russian maritime insurance service providers "Ingosstrakh" and "Alfastrakhovanie Group".

In addition, as the agency wrote, a dozen more traders, as well as two Russian oil companies, may fall under restrictions. Among them are Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz.

In December 2022, a ban on the import of Russian oil to the EU came into force and supplies were reoriented to new markets. Mainly to India, which has become the second largest buyer of raw materials from Russia.

As Reuters reported, the administration is imposing sanctions before leaving the White House and will announce them today, January 10.

Export to India is provided by tankers from Russian ports in the Black and Baltic Seas and in the Far East. A significant part of the volumes are transported by vessels of the so-called shadow fleet. They call tankers with unknown or little-known owners who help Russian companies bypass the $60 price ceiling for third countries, which was set The EU and the G7 countries.

As EADaily reported, the price of Russian oil corresponded to the price ceiling only until July 2023, while Russian companies redirected flows to more remote markets. In addition, the main factor of low prices was the low cost of reference grades, on the quotations of which the cost of oil from Russia.