Western energy sanctions against Russia are failing. Although Russian fossil fuel exports to the West have decreased, glaring loopholes in the sanctions’ regime persist. Gaps in the oil ban were intentionally left open as G7 countries have grappled with an exaggerated fear of an energy price surge. India has exploited these gaps successfully to become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russia crude. India’s imports of Russian oil rose by 13% year-on-year in value in the first eight months of 2024, totalling EUR 27 bn.
In the same period, 41.1 mn tonnes (72%) of India’s imports of Russian crude arrived via ‘shadow’ tankers with dubious or inadequate insurance. India has replaced Saudi Arabia as Europe’s top fuel supplier. In 2024, the EU imported 13% of its seaborne diesel and jet fuel from India. The EU’s imports of oil products from the three main Indian refineries running on Russian crude increased 58% in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period last year, widening the EU’s refining loophole.
The current analysis reveals that in order to cut into Kremlin’s oil and gas revenues, there needs to be a transatlantic push to toughen the enforcement of the G7 oil ban and phase out Russian fossil fuels from Western markets. The EU should ban the imports of petroleum products from refineries in third countries such as India, Turkey and the UAE, that have been maximising Russian crude oil purchases in order to sell the surplus petroleum products back to the EU. The EU should immediately ban financial and trade transactions with refineries under the ownership of Russia-sanctioned companies such as the Vadinar refinery, under Rosneft control.
