Despite US pressure: India resumes purchases of Russian oil
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India has resumed buying Russian oil after a temporary hiatus caused by US sanctions. Oil company Indian Oil Corp has purchased five batches of Siberian crude from suppliers not subject to restrictions and plans to receive the cargoes in December.
This is reported by Reuters .
Following the imposition of US sanctions on major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, many Indian refiners, including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and Reliance Industries, stopped importing Russian oil. However, Indian Oil Corp has decided to resume purchases as ESPO crude prices have fallen to levels that meet the sanctions conditions.
The company has purchased about 3.5 million barrels of ESPO crude, according to trading sources. The deal was priced close to Dubai quotes, with deliveries scheduled for an eastern Indian port in December. The names of the sellers are not being disclosed at this time.
Sources also said that Indian Oil Corp had previously rejected several shipments because the suppliers were subsidiaries of companies under US sanctions. Now, purchases are made only from partners that are not subject to these restrictions.
Journalists note that most ESPO oil shipments are traditionally sent to China. However, demand in that country has declined due to reduced purchases by state-owned refineries and the exhaustion of import quotas by private companies. The decline in Chinese demand has caused ESPO oil prices to fall, making it more profitable for Indian buyers.
Thus, India has actually resumed imports of Russian oil, despite pressure from the United States, focusing primarily on economic feasibility and the country’s energy needs.
Recall that after the introduction of new sanctions against Russian energy companies, Indian oil refineries temporarily stopped placing new orders for the supply of Russian oil.
As reported, the Furia tanker carrying Russian oil, bound for India, changed course and stopped in the Baltic Sea after the US tightened sanctions against Russian oil companies.
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