Yaroslav Konoshchuk12:56, 14.05.26

2 min.56

According to Kpler, by the end of May, India could import about 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil.

India is asking the United States to extend its permit to buy sanctioned Russian oil as the war in the Middle East disrupts energy supplies, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

According to the journalists’ interlocutors, Indian officials have warned Washington that, amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, continued instability in the oil market will have serious consequences for India’s more than one billion residents.

“According to these sources, this will particularly affect the 1.4 billion Indians who are already facing a shortage of gas for cooking,” the publication notes. 

Bloomberg recalls that due to the jump in oil prices after the start of the war in the Middle East, the United States in March temporarily allowed the purchase of Russian “black gold”, which is under American sanctions, and then extended the permit until May 16.

Journalists note that India is importing Russian oil at a record pace as refineries operate at full capacity ahead of the expiration of the current US permit. According to Kpler, daily shipments of Russian oil to India in May “reached an unprecedented 2.3 million barrels.”

Analysts predict that by the end of May, India will import an average of 1.9 million barrels of Russian oil per day.

(c)UNIAN 2026