The flow of Russian crude to Asia is displacing some Mideast supply
Russian crude displacement impacts Mideast producers
Flows of Urals crude to Asian importers—in particular India—have spiked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to price reporting agency GX
Additional supplies of Russian Urals crude have displaced some Mideast Gulf oil in Asia since the Ukraine invasion and encouraged more of those Mideast grades to go west to Europe, says Chen Ee Woon, energy analyst at price reporting agency General Index (GX). The flow of additional Urals crude to Asia is new, and India—which has not sanctioned Russian oil—is the largest buyer of those spot cargoes, he continues. India has taken around 40mn bl of Urals crude since the start of the war, GX data shows. By contrast, Chinese state-owned refiners are reportedly more risk-averse and not seeking more Urals supply, although GI says there is “market chatter” of independent Chinese ‘tea-kettle’ refine
Also in this section
11 July 2025
Equinor and its partners at Norway’s largest oilfield have pulled the trigger on a fresh $1.3b investment that will maintain high output for longer
11 July 2025
Reassessment of the country’s export-facing gas policy coincides with worsening domestic market backdrop
10 July 2025
Without sanctions relief, there is little reason to believe the latest potential attempt at exports from the Russian liquefaction project will be more successful than the one last summer
9 July 2025
Efforts to restructure and boost investment appear to be working, but doubts remain about the plan to almost double crude production by 2030
