Indian refiners are swiftly moving to purchase Russian crude oil following the relaxation of U.S. restrictions on related transactions. Millions of barrels of crude oil stranded in Asian waters offer India a rapid supply channel amid disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies.

Informed sources revealed that over 10 million barrels of Russian crude have been acquired by Indian entities. A significant portion of these purchases may have been completed even before Washington announced a one-month waiver late on Thursday.

Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows that approximately 15 million barrels of Russian crude are currently loaded on tankers distributed across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. An additional 7 million barrels are on tankers waiting near Singapore. All of this crude can reach Indian ports within a week. Furthermore, more tankers carrying Russian crude are heading towards the Indian subcontinent from the Mediterranean and Suez Canal regions.

Within this week, Indian buyers are expected to take over dozens of tanker loads of unsold oil or crude without specified destination ports.

Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India became one of the major importers of discounted Russian crude. However, under U.S. pressure, it significantly reduced purchases this year. The conflict in the Middle East subsequently severed its access to alternative supplies from Persian Gulf producers, prompting Washington to provide New Delhi with a temporary waiver.

According to sources, Indian refiners are currently purchasing Russia's flagship Urals crude at a delivered price representing a premium of $2 to $4 per barrel over Brent crude. This contrasts sharply with the situation last month, when Urals crude traded at a discount of $15 to $20 per barrel to Brent as Indian buyers scaled back procurement.