"India's Russian Oil Import Fluctuations: Payment Disputes and Discounts in Focus"

Russian oil tankers are diverting from India due to a payment dispute, as a major Russian supplier struggles to accept payments in UAE dirhams. The tankers had been waiting near India and Sri Lanka for about a month, but with the inability of Rosneft's unit to open a UAE bank account, payments for oil shipments have been stalled. This issue is compounded by US sanctions on Russian oil trade, which put pressure on India to comply with price caps. Despite being one of Russia's largest oil customers post-Ukraine invasion, India's oil imports from Russia dropped significantly in December, with no Sokol crude received.