Indian Oil Corp., India's largest oil refiner, has purchased five cargoes of Russian oil for December delivery from companies not subject to sanctions, resuming purchases despite pressure from Washington on India to stop buying Russian oil, Reuters reports, citing traders, writes UNN.
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Last week, Washington sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia's largest oil companies, stepping up efforts to pressure Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
However, IOC's head of finance, Anuj Jain, said his company would continue to buy Russian oil if the barrels met sanctions requirements.
The EU, UK, and US have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, including on shipping. The sanctions have forced Russia to sell its oil at deep discounts, and for the past three years, India has become the largest buyer of Russian seaborne oil.
IOC purchased about 3.5 million barrels of ESPO crude at roughly parity with Dubai quotes for delivery to a port in eastern India in December, one trading source said. The sources did not say who the sellers were.
The refiner had previously canceled seven or eight cargoes of Russian oil after the announcement of the latest US sanctions, as the deliveries were made by subsidiaries of sanctioned companies, two sources said.
Before the latest US sanctions, Rosneft was the main seller of ESPO crude.
Most of Russia's ESPO crude from the Pacific port of Kozmino usually went to China. However, demand from China fell after state-owned refineries suspended purchases following the imposition of US sanctions, and independent Chinese refineries exhausted their import quotas. Due to the war, the price of ESPO crude fell, making it attractive to Indian buyers.