India stopped exporting diesel to the European Union this month as a result of the European ban on fuels derived from Russian crude oil.
New Delhi, on the other hand, has redirected record volumes to West Africa, according to maritime tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa. At the same time, Turkey's diesel exports to the EU have slowed in recent months. Indian diesel exports to West Africa are expected to reach a record high in December, estimated at around 155,000 barrels per day, according to Kpler.
For January, the platform forecasts a volume of around 84,000 barrels per day. According to analysts, Indian refiners may have to reduce their purchases of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump on Russia's two largest oil companies, a move which would, however, lead to higher costs.
Since 2022 and the start of the war in Ukraine, India has sharply increased its imports of Russian oil, becoming Moscow's second largest market. The third largest consumer of oil in the world, India consumes more than 5 million barrels per day, far behind the United States (20 million) and China (15 million).
