The United States has asked India to consider taking more than 100 million barrels of Russian crude that are currently sitting on ships waiting to unload at Chinese ports, IANS reported on Monday. The request comes as global oil markets grow nervous due to the ongoing tensions involving Iran in the Middle East.
Speaking on Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington reached out to India as part of a short-term move to calm oil markets and prevent prices from rising further.
This comes amid reports that India is set to receive more than 30 million barrels of Russian crude oil this month, as tensions in West Asia disrupt the Strait of Hormuz. The fresh flow of Russian oil comes after a recent waiver from the United States allowed certain transactions involving Russian cargoes that were already at sea.
Until recently, Russian crude had been trading at a discount to Brent crude since the start of the Russia–Ukraine War in 2022. But with supplies tightening and demand staying strong, Russian barrels are now being sold at a premium to the benchmark.
US urges India to take 100 million barrels of Russian oil waiting for China
Wright said officials from the Trump administration personally contacted Indian leaders about the idea. The goal was to move the oil that is already floating at sea to Indian refineries instead of letting it wait for weeks outside China.
“I did call up the Indians, as did Treasury Secretary (Scott) Bessent, and say, look, there’s a whole bunch of oil that’s floating to wait to unload at Chinese refineries,” Wright said during television interviews.
According to him, a large volume of Russian crude is currently stuck offshore because Chinese refineries have limited capacity to unload ships right now. “There’s over 100 million barrels of floating Russian crude waiting in line to deliver to China,” Wright said.
Plan meant to ease fears in oil markets
The proposal, Wright explained, is to divert those cargoes to Indian refineries instead of letting them sit idle at sea for weeks. “Instead of having it wait six weeks to unload there, let’s just pull that oil forward, have it land at Indian refineries and tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price spikes and the concerns we see in the marketplace,” he said.
According to him, the idea is simply a quick, practical step meant to steady global markets while tensions in the Middle East continue to affect shipping routes. “It’s just a pragmatic effort that has a short time span,” Wright said.
Russian oil shipments to India picking up
Data from commodity analytics firm Kpler shows that around 33 million barrels of Russian crude are expected to be unloaded in India this month. So far, about 10 million barrels have already been discharged. Another 23 million barrels are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, according to Kpler’s AIS projection data that tracks tanker movements. However, these numbers may still change as more tankers reveal their destinations and shipping routes become clearer.
“Following the recent US waiver on certain Russian crude transactions, Indian refiners appear to be ramping up purchases of Russian crude. We are now seeing more crude oil tankers signalling discharge at Indian ports in the coming days, particularly those that were previously on the water without clear destinations,” said Kpler’s senior research analyst,Nikhil Dubey.
India never fully stopped buying Russian oil
Dubey revealed that India had never actually stopped purchasing Russian crude. “However, it is important to note that India never stopped buying Russian crude oil. The crude itself is not sanctioned. Some companies had imposed self-restrictions due to their refined product export exposure to international markets, especially as the EU introduced restrictions on importing products refined from Russian crude,” he said.
The recent waiver from the US, however, allows transactions that are necessary to complete deliveries of Russian oil that were already loaded before a specific cut-off date. “The temporary waiver provides additional operational clarity by allowing transactions necessary to complete deliveries to India, even when parts of the supply chain involve sanctioned vessels or entities, provided the cargo was loaded before the specified cut-off date. This should help secure crude supply at a time when flows from the Strait of Hormuz are effectively stalled,” Dubey added.
Sources say Indian refiners have already begun booking cargoes through Red Sea export routes to make sure crude supplies continue without interruption.
No change in US policy on Russia
Wright also made it clear that the suggestion does not mean the United States is changing its stance toward Russia. “It is not. The United States’ policy towards Russia has not changed at all,” he said when asked if the move went against Washington’s efforts to reduce dependence on Russian oil.
He added that the current surge in oil prices is not because the world is running out of crude. “The world is very well supplied with oil right now,” Wright said. “You’re seeing a little bit of fear premium in the marketplace. But the world is not short of oil today or natural gas.”