Rushali Saha
In his final days in office, former U.S. President Joe Biden announced what is being described as the “most significant sanctions yet” hitting Russia’s oil and gas revenue. The sanctions target some of Russia’s largest producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, along with their subsidiaries, and ship insurance providers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil. In an unprecedented move, six Russian oil tankers still under construction were included in the sanctions, as was Shandong Port Group, a China-based oil terminal operator, and two Indian ship management companies for their alleged involvement in the transportation of Russian oil and gas.
As the largest buyers of Russian crude oil between December 5, 2022, and December 31, 2024, China and India are expected to be hit hard by the sanctions.
Shandong Port has already banned U.S.-sanctioned vessels from calling at its ports, and Indian refineries have halted trade with sanctioned tankers and entities. Indian government-owned banks such as the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank are exercising extreme caution and withholding payments to Russian exporters.
In India, there is growing uncertainty over the future of the India-Russia oil supply deal signed between Reliance and Rosneft last month, after Rosnefteflot, a subsidiary of Rosneft, was hit with sanctions.
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