Russia’s Sokol Crude Starts to Move to India Again via Traders
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews.
Despite stricter enforcement of the U.S. sanctions against Russian oil exports, some tankers loaded with Russia’s Sokol crude grade are near India signaling Indian ports as their destinations, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday.
After more than a year of gorging on cheaper Russian crude, Indian refiners began to avoid Sokol shipments at the end of last year and avoid taking delivery of crude loaded on tankers of Russian state fleet owner Sovcomflot, following the ramp-up of U.S. sanctions on Russia.
It now appears that some of the Sokol trade may have returned, via traders offering attractive discounts, refining sources have told Bloomberg.
According to the ship-tracking data the newswire has compiled, three tankers carrying Sokol crude are near India’s west and east coasts. It’s not clear if they would discharge in India and whether issues with delivery and payments due to the sanctions have been overcome, Bloomberg notes.
