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.
Russia and India are looking for ways to continue trading oil, and Russia has offered what it calls a special mechanism to the India side to ensure this—despite U.S. President Trump’s threat to impose an additional tariff of 25% on Indian exports if the country keeps buying Russian oil.
In the first half of this year, Weatherford’s revenues from its Russian operations rose to 7% of the total $2.4 billion, from 5% of the total for the first six months of 2024, the report said, noting the oilfield service provider generated some $332 million in cash and assets in Russia as of end-June this year. That was up from $233 million a year earlier.
Shipments of refined petroleum products out of Russia declined by 6.6% in July from the previous month, Reuters estimates showed on Wednesday, as domestic demand rose and capacity under planned maintenance increased.
Russia’s crude oil and condensate exports have declined slightly since 2022, but the bigger shift has come in where those barrels are going, according to new analysis released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Aug. 7.
Still, lower global crude and oil-product prices helped the government to reduce subsidies it pays to Russia’s refiners to partially compensate for the difference in fuel prices at home and abroad, a measure designed to boost gasoline and diesel supplies to the domestic market. In July, the budget transferred 59.9 billion rubles in subsidies, down by 58 percent from a year ago.
Oil prices continued to move higher on Friday morning in Asia, supported by renewed optimism surrounding U.S.-EU trade negotiations and expectations that Russia will restrict gasoline exports. Even reports of Chevron’s return to Venezuela, which analysts estimate could add around 200,000 barrels per day to global supply, have been unable to pull prices lower.
Slovakia’s government is planning to increase its intake of Russian pipeline gas under a temporary EU exemption, reversing earlier commitments to phase out Russian energy supplies in a controversial move amid a growing bloc-wide crackdown on Russian fossil fuels. The exemption allows Bratislava to continue drawing from Gazprom supplies until 2027, aligning with a long-term contract that runs through 2034.
EU states earlier approved a fresh sanctions package on Russia that included new banking restrictions and curbs on fuels made from the nation’s petroleum. The package – the bloc’s 18th since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – will also cut off 20 more Russian banks from the international payments system SWIFT and impose restrictions on Russian petroleum refined in other countries. A large oil refinery in India, part-owned by Russia’s state-run oil company, Rosneft PJSC, was also blacklisted.
The EU’s move to restrict fuels such as diesel made from Russian crude could have some market impact, as Europe imports the fuel from India, which in turn buys large amounts of Russian crude. Diesel markets have been showing signs of tightness for several weeks, and prices strengthened in early European trading relative to crude.