Freight rates for Russian ESPO Blend oil loading from the Far Eastern port of Kozmino have jumped fivefold amid a lack of vessels after fresh U.S. sanctions cut availability of tankers, three traders said and data showed.

Industry officials maintain that enough oil supply is available in the global market and replacing the lost Russian oil volumes should not be difficult.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil that was widely sanctioned by the West. That may be about to change.

The UK government has announced sanctions against the Russian companies Gazprom Neft and PJSC Surgutneftegas. Source: European Pravda, citing a UK government press release Details: The official statement from London notes that these companies produce over 1 million barrels of oil per day between them,

India's state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp sees its Russian oil processing down to 20% in March from 31% this month as it awaits offers from traders, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told an analyst call on Thursday.

Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the finance chief at Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum.

The recent implementation of new US sanctions targeting Russian oil producers, tankers, and insurers has created a disruption in the supply chain. Middlemen who were previously involved in supplying Russian oil to Indian refiners,