The price of Russian ESPO crude has fallen sharply after Indian refiners halted new orders for Russian oil since the imposition of recent US sanctions, coinciding with the cancellation of some of their seaborne crude purchases by Chinese state-owned companies, according to a report.
Bloomberg reported that Russian crude sales were offered to the market at a discount of 50 cents per barrel to benchmark Brent crude, after being sold last week at a premium of more than $1 per barrel before the latest round of sanctions.
According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, some Indian refiners have turned to spot markets to meet their crude needs. State-owned Indian Oil has issued a tender for the crude, while Reliance Industries has increased its spot purchases.
While ESPO crude is favored by Chinese state-owned and independent refiners known as T-pots, Chinese state-owned companies, including Sinopec, have canceled some of their seaborne Russian crude purchases following the US sanctions.
This comes as global markets are anticipating any disruption to supply after Washington blacklisted Rosneft and Lukoil, a move aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, in parallel with new European restrictions on Russian energy trade.
