Indian refiners are already substituting barrels from the Middle East, South America and Western suppliers, which changes near-term crude slate planning and term-contract negotiations. With Saudi Arabia tracking at a month-to-date all-time high and back as top supplier, pricing leverage and freight patterns shift toward Middle East grades. The drop tightens the effective pool of discounted Russian cargoes available to India under sanctions constraints, raising the probability of higher feedstock costs if alternative grades price at narrower discounts.