The US's top energy advisor urges India not to buy too much Russian oil — and says Moscow's revenues are now higher than before the war

• The US's top energy advisor has told India not to go too far in ramping up its oil imports from Russia.
• India has increased its purchases from Russia from next to nothing to around 800,000 million barrels per day.

The US's top energy advisor has asked India not to buy too much Russian oil, and warned the Asian country to be careful not to look as though it's taking advantage of the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine.

Amos Hochstein, US special envoy for energy affairs, told senators Thursday that Russia is now making more money from oil and gas exports than it was before the war, thanks to the jump in prices.

The US and UK have banned Russian oil imports following the country's invasion of Ukraine in late February, and the EU has agreed in principle to dramatically cut purchases. "Self-sanctioning" by Western buyers has also slashed sales to Europe.

But India has swooped in to fill some of the gap. Around 800,000 barrels per day of Russian oil exports have been redirected from Europe to India, Rystad Energy analyst Claudio Galimberti told Insider, helping the country's overall exports hold steady.

Hochstein told the Senate Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation he has spoken to Indian officials on the subject. He said the country was previously importing just 100,000 barrels per day.

"In my conversations with them, I've said: 'Look, we don't have secondary sanctions, we can't ban your purchases. But as you increase your purchases from Russia I would ask two things.'"

"'One — don't go too far, and don't look like you're taking advantage of the pain that is being felt in European households and in the United States.'"

"'Second, make sure you negotiate well. Because if you don't buy it, nobody else is, so you have an advantage here.'"

Hochstein also said Russia was now bringing in more revenue from energy exports than before the war.

Asked by Republican Senator Ron Johnson whether this was true, Hochstein said: "I would agree with you on that." That's because exports have held roughly steady along with the price of Russian crude, while the prices of refined products have gone up.

Yet Hochstein said that overall Russia is in a much worse economic position than before the war. He said a slump in domestic demand meant the country was reducing oil production; and said financial sanctions had made it more difficult for Moscow to access energy revenues.

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