Russian oil exports are at a post-invasion high. But which countries are buying?

Russian oil exports hit their highest level in April compared to any other month after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). 

Russia exported an average of 8.3 million barrels of oil a day in April, an increase of 50,000 daily barrels compared to March.

Oil exports from Russia dropped to a low of 7.4 million barrels per day post-invasion, with sanctions taking a toll on its trade. 

The rise corresponds to Russia's increased effort to seek markets in countries that are yet to impose sanctions over the Ukraine war, according to the IEA monthly report. 

The report also noted that despite the rise in exports, Russia has struggled to make more money.  

Although Russia has managed to steadily increase the volume of its oil exports, revenue has not mirrored it. 

Moscow's oil exports earned 13.9 million euros – up from the previous month – yet made close to 6 million less than in June 2022. 700,000 additional barrels were exported in April compared to June of last year. 

This has led to speculations that Russia might be exporting its oil at discounted prices.

Some 80% of the Russian oil exports in April went to India and China, representative of the trend documented by IEA monthly reports. 

According to a report by BBC, India's oil imports have jumped tenfold, reaching 2.2 million barrels per day in April from the pre-invasion average of 0.2 million barrels per day.

India is the world's third-largest importer of oil. 

At the same time, EU oil imports have plummeted. They were stable at 0.6 million barrels a day for the third month running in April, amid repeated rounds of sanctions on Russia.

The EU's first round of sanctions on Russian crude came into effect in December 2022, while the