Between January 2022 and February 2023, India and China emerged as the top buyers of Russian oil, while African and Middle Eastern nations led the import of oil products, according to an independent expert on information named Kirill Rodionov.
Sea-based deliveries in January 2022 averaged 3.2 million barrels per day. By the end of the first eleven months of 2022, shipments hovered around 3.3 million barrels per day. After the embargo tightened in December 2022, daily imports dipped to about 2.7 million barrels, then rose to roughly 3.6 million in January 2023 and about 3.4 million in February 2023, as noted by the specialist.
Rodionov pointed out that export growth did not occur uniformly across regions, with regional dynamics showing uneven development.
Maritime supplies to India and China surged more than fourfold. In February 2022 those two countries together imported about 550,000 barrels per day, rising to approximately 2.3 million barrels per day by February 2023. Deliveries to Middle Eastern partners also increased, from 93,000 barrels per day in February 2022 to a sustained level above 200,000 barrels per day for most of the following year.
Regarding petroleum products, the increase for India and China did not mirror the pace seen with crude oil. In February 2022 their combined intake was around 76,000 barrels per day, while by February 2023 it reached about 270,000 barrels per day. Their share of total petroleum product exports grew from 3 percent to 13 percent in that period. The Middle East emerged as the leading importer of petroleum products, reshaping regional trade patterns.
Rodionov also noted a decline in petroleum product shipments to the United Kingdom and European Union nations. In January and February 2022 those volumes stood at 1.7 million and 1.9 million barrels per day, respectively, whereas in January 2023 the figure dropped to roughly 955,000 barrels per day. The embargo pushed oil producers to explore new markets, while the trajectory for petroleum products depends largely on how deliveries to transit countries evolve.