Putin needs help from China and India on oil Europe doesn't want

President Vladimir Putin may need to count even more on China and India should the European Union ban Russian oil, with few other takers in Asia able to process the type of crude Europe typically buys. EU leaders agreed to pursue a partial embargo on Russian crude oil shipped on sea, potentially costing Putin up to $10 billion a year in lost export revenue.

Though that could eventually leave more of Russia's flagship Urals crude - an oil brand that had been popular in Europe - needing a new home, there will be limited buyers in Asia. That's because the grade can't easily be refined in large quantities in countries such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia that don't have sophisticated processing and blending capabilities to handle the highly sulfuric type of oil, said traders.