From the article:
Two of the six tankers are now showing Chinese ports as their destinations, indicating that these cargoes could finally be consumed by Chinese refiners instead.
So there are still buyers out there for Russian oil.
“Interestingly, the volume of Urals that Indian refiners are buying is roughly the same as it was before, around 1.1-1.15 million bpd. The big change this month was the absolute absence of Sokol imports. Indian refineries bought an average of 140,000 bpd of Sokol this year…December 2023 marks the first and only month in 2023 that India didn’t buy (any Sokol crude),” said Viktor Katona, Kpler’s Lead Crude Analyst.
Is the Sokel crude different than the Ural crude. Could this be a refinery problem?
Let’s find other news sources.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-04/russian-oil-losing-competitive-edge-in-india-as-prices-rise
Russian Oil Losing Competitive Edge in India as Prices Rise
Iraqi crude was cheaper than discounted Russian barrels
India says low discounts not payment issues hit imports
*India’s crude oil imports from Russia in November were the costliest in a year, government data show, reflecting lowering discounts on the fuel.*emphasized text
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-russian-oil-imports-drop-pricing-not-due-payment-woes-2024-01-03/
India’s Russian oil imports drop on pricing, not due to payment woes
India’s December Russian oil imports fell to an 11-month low as five ships loaded with light sweet Sokol grade headed to other locations after the U.S. imposed sanctions on some vessels and shippers for not complying with the G7-fixed $60 per barrel price caps for oil at Russian ports.
Seems to be a pricing issue not a payment issue. Russia will have to sell more oil to maintain same level of revenue.