“So far, there has been no discussion of tariffs, either on India or on China,” one of the unnamed sources told Reuters, adding that Brussels was just wrapping up a trade deal with India and did not want to jeopardize that.
Oil traders are focused on New Delhi’s buying after Washington doubled tariffs on many Indian imports to 50 percent to try to end the war in Ukraine. As part of the drive – which has not been matched by similar US action against China, another big importer – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused the country’s wealthiest families of profiteering, and Navarro said the nation was fueling “the Russian war machine” and “nothing but a laundromat” for the Kremlin.
This week, state and private oil processors including Reliance Industries Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. bought more US West Texas Intermediate crude than normal, according to traders who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak to the media. The main driver was more favorable prices for the grade, which have weakened relative to Middle East benchmarks, they said.
Today, an additional 25% tariff on all Indian exports to the United States should come into effect, making the total tariff owed by importers of Indian goods around 50%. The additional tariff aims to discourage Indian energy importers from buying Russian oil. And it could hurt the U.S. economy—although U.S. oil producers would welcome the price change.
We will then look at some of the key market movers early this week before providing you with the latest analysis of the top news events taking place in the global energy complex over the past few days. We hope you enjoy.
Russia and India are interested in collaborating on joint energy projects, including oil and gas production in Russia’s Far East and Arctic shelf, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after meeting with his Indian counterpart in Moscow.
While China is the largest importer of Russian oil, it tends to take deliveries from the nation’s Far East. Yet so far in August, shipments of Urals – which loads from Baltic and Black Sea ports – were almost 75,000 barrels a day. That’s almost double the year-to-date average of about 40,000 barrels, according to Kpler. In contrast, exports to India sunk to no more than 400,000 barrels a day this month, compared with the average of 1.18 million.
India’s domestic oil and gas production is nowhere near enough to meet even half of its demand for oil and gas, but any boost to domestic supply would be welcome as a replacement for import dependence, which currently stands at an impressive 85% of total demand for oil.
The plant’s projected capacity will be enough to meet India’s requirements for blending 1% of sustainable aviation fuel with jet fuel beginning from 2027, the chairman of Indian Oil Corp., Arvinder Singh Sahney, told the media as quoted by The Indian Express. The main market for the product will be Europe, which has SAF blending mandates for airlines operating on its territory.
“India’s energy journey offers engagement opportunities with Indian companies across multiple areas, including joint participation in the upcoming OALP-X bidding round, collaboration on subsea manifold and offshore technology development, apart from deploying AI-driven solutions for digital transformation in upstream operations,” the Indian minister added.