Spiegel: Germany buys Russian oil via India

Germany continues buying large volumes of Russian oil through India.

The amount of oil products that Germany bought from India increased 12 times in January-July 2023 compared to the same period last year. India, in turn, is a major consumer of crude oil from Russia, Spiegel reports, citing the data of the German Federal Statistical Office.

"Imports from India 'mostly consisted of gas oil, which is used for the production of diesel fuel or fuel oil', the statisticians explained. India produces these gas oils from crude oil, which the country has been buying in large quantities from Russia since the beginning of the war," the report said.

Germany stopped the direct import of oil from Russia because of the war. After the second stage of the EU oil embargo entered into force, almost no Russian oil is imported into Germany. The share of Russia in the total volume of oil imports to Germany fell from 36.5 per cent in January 2022 to only 0.1 per cent in March 2023.

Earlier, the Czech Republic increased its import of Russian oil to an 11-year high. The Czech Republic received 65 per cent of all imported oil from Russia in the first half of 2023. The share of Russian imported oil was 56 per cent during the same period last year.

Germany signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to increase oil supplies in June 2023.

Bloomberg wrote that the price cap on Russian oil is no longer working on August 22.

Oil exceeded $90 for the first time in 10 months. Saudi Arabia and Russia restricted supplies on September 5.

The G7 postponed the review of price restrictions on Russian oil on September 6.