Why is India buying crude so aggressively from Russia? Will that create problems with our relations with the US?
Answer
Answer
As Saudi Aramco raised oil prices for its Asian clients, Indian refiners are veering towards Russian crude. India is entitled to look for the cheapest source of crude as India is not obliged to enrich other nations. Russia is willing to offer discounts of up to $30-35/bbl due to the strain imposed by the sanctions. That is why India has ordered more crude from Russia in the last 2 months than in the whole of 2021.