Some nations have banned the importation of Russian oil following its incursion into Ukraine. According to a CryptoMonday analysis, that has forced Russia to rethink its trading relationships by placing more emphasis on Asia. The site concludes that Russia’s oil exports to Asia grew by 58% between its February invasion of Ukraine and now. That growth has seen its initial supply of 1.2 million barrels per day (BPD) to the region approach the 1.9M BPD mark. 

“Russia is having to make some tough choices in the wake of biting sanctions,” says CryptoMonday’s CEO Jonathan Merry. He continues, “The economic embargoes it is facing are compelling it to consider alternative markets to its oil. That’s visible through expanding its shipment to Asia, particularly China and India. It is using its highly discounted prices to grow market share in the region.”

The increased exports have come at a significant cost to Russia. The country has had to heavily discount its crude oil shipment to attract Asian buyers. A Bloomberg report indicates that duty rates for Russian oil shrunk by 10% after dropping from $6.81/barrel to $6.11/barrel. 

Those figures are 27% shy of their April 2022 highs of $8.30/barrel. 

Market data shows that Asia absorbs 50% of Russia’s seaborne crude. That’s a significant leap from the roughly 33% the region bought pre-Ukrainian invasion. And as stated before, China and India take the lion’s share of those shipments. China accounts for roughly 1M BPD, up from nearly 600,000 in February. Meanwhile, India has ramped its quota 24X from the 25,000 BPD it imported in February.