Indian state-owned refineries are switching to crude oil imported from countries such as Nigeria, Angola, and Libya, abandoning Russian supplies under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India as a penalty for buying Russian crude.
According to Reuters, as a result of this pressure, more than two million barrels of Nigerian oil will reach India between September and October 2025. Buyers include the two largest state-owned refineries, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Both refineries, bowing to the pressure of sanctions, have already ordered at least 22 million barrels of non-Russian crude oil. Besides Nigeria, India's African sources of non-Russian crude oil include Angola and Libya.
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Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has been one of the world's largest buyers of Russian crude oil. This year, it purchased 1.79 million barrels of crude oil per day from Russia, which, after refining and blending with crude oil from other sources, it exported gasoline and diesel fuel to Asian countries and Australia. In connection with this practice, the US president accused India of “fueling the Russian war machine.”
Africa produces nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for about 10% of global production. Nigeria is the largest producer of this commodity on the continent, followed by Angola, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt. Although Africa is an oil exporter, it imports vast quantities of petroleum products, including from Russia—supplied to the continent illegally, bypassing sanctions.
Tadeusz Brzozowski (PAP)
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