
Russia said Tuesday that oil sales to India surged more than twenty-fold in 2022 amidst the Ukraine conflict. Russia's military intervention in Ukraine led European buyers to turn to other markets, but oil sales to India saw a hike, Russia's deputy prime minister said Tuesday.
"Most of our energy resources were redirected to other markets, to the markets of friendly countries. If for example, we take oil supplies to India, they increased 22 times last year," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
The Ukraine war pushed European countries away from Russia. The countries sought to end their reliance on Russian energy supplies. As this happened, Russia shifted its oil exports to India and China last year.
An embargo was placed by the European Unionon seaborne Russian oil in December. A pricecap on Russian crude was also agreed upon with the Group of Seven industrialised powers.
This made Russia's energy imports cheaper for China and India.
Novak is in charge of Russia's energy sector and addedthat supplies to China were increasing as a "result of the great work that has been done in the industry."
Russia isa major producer and key ally of the OPEC oil cartel. It recently announced a cut in crude production by 500,000 barrels per day in response to the Western sanctions. The cut amounts tofive per cent of daily production andwould continue through June.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said this month that Russia's oil-export revenue sank by almost half in February compared to last year.
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