Russian oil dispatches to India have dropped sharply after the US announced sanctions on Moscow’s oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil on October 22, according to provisional tanker data. These are still early days and industry experts believe it would be a month or so to get a clear picture. But refiners seem wary of Washington’s latest sanctions, which are set to take effect from November 21.

In the week to October 27, crude oil exports to India from Russia averaged 1.19 million barrels per day (bpd), significantly down from 1.95 million bpd in the previous two weeks, as per provisional vessel tracking data from global commodity data and analytics provider Kpler.

As expected, the crash in exports is driven by lower dispatches from Rosneft and Lukoil, which account for over half of Russia’s oi

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