EU says India's purchase of Russian oil is normal, Moscow's "pocket" increases by $1.7 billion thanks to this

On May 16, High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) Josep Borrell said that the EU needs to take tough action against India's resale of Russian oil to Europe as fuel.

Ấn Độ và Nga kinh doanh dầu mỏ khiến EU đau đầu

Russia's oil exports in April 2023 hit their highest level since the special military operation in Ukraine broke out in February 2022. (Source: Reuters)

“If diesel or gasoline comes to Europe from India and is produced with Russian oil, this is definitely a sanctions circumvention and member states need to take action,” said Josep Borrell.

It is normal for India to buy oil from Russia. However, if they use it as a Russian refining hub and sell us those products... then we have to take action."

India became Russia’s largest oil customer in 2022. Access to cheap oil from Moscow has boosted the output and profits of refineries in the South Asian country, allowing them to export oil products to Europe on a competitive basis to capture a larger market share.

Last year, India exported an average of 154,000 barrels of fuel per day to Europe. But now that figure has increased to 200,000 barrels.

* On May 16, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that Russia's oil exports increased to 8.3 million barrels per day in April 2023, the highest since the conflict with Ukraine broke out in February 2022. This output was 50,000 barrels per day higher than in March.

In fact, Moscow may have increased production to compensate for the loss of revenue, the IEA added. Russia's oil export revenue in April increased by $1.7 billion to $15 billion.

However, this figure is 27% lower than the same period in 2022. Tax revenue from the Russian oil and gas sector also decreased by 64% in the same period.

Russia's crude oil production was "generally stable" in April at 9.6 million barrels per day, but the country has not fully implemented its announced production cuts, the agency said. Moscow needs to reduce another 300,000 barrels per day in May to reach its target.

"Russia does not appear to have much difficulty finding buyers, with China and India absorbing nearly 80% of Russia's crude exports," the IEA said.