India compensates with Saudi oil for Russia's dwindling supply after sanctions

The increase in oil prices together with the reduction in production on the international market has led many countries to resort to the spot market, where countries buy and sell assets on the spot market. 

In this case, India has been the country that has had to resort to this market. The Asian giant has been a regular buyer of Russian oil. However, since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil exports have been affected by international sanctions, which has complicated the supply of countries buying from Russia. 

A complication that has forced India to depend on the Saudi and Emirati markets due to the high energy demand in the world's most populous country, whose population is double that of the entire European continent. 

The arrival of Donald Trump has accelerated the process. India is trying to accelerate hydrocarbon purchases amid fears that the new US president's decisions could come into force and affect Indian transactions. 

For the time being, Washington has requested the documents of all types of transactions related to the purchase and sale of oil to ensure that they do not come from Russia, Iran or Venezuela. As a result, India's oil minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, suggested the possibility of India importing more oil from the US. 

Following the news that India will have to turn to the spot market, one of the country's largest refiners, Bharat Petroleum, will buy 12 million barrels of oil from the UAE's leading oil company, Murban Abu Dhabi. 

Meanwhile, the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, is in supply talks with Indian refiners regarding sales for 2025 and 2026, and confirmed agreements with ADNOC.