IOCL Seals Deal To Import 3 Million Barrels Of Crude Oil From Russia

New Delhi: With the Western countries imposing sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, the Indian oil companies are banking in on the restrictions and utilising it for the country’s benefit.

As a result, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has managed to seal a deal with a Russian oil company to import 3 million barrels of crude. The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine that led to international pressure to isolate the Putin administration, stated reports in NDTV.

Russian oil exports to India, the third largest energy consumer, quadrupled in March, the Financial Times reported Friday.

As the US and other western nations slapped sanctions on Moscow, Russia has begun offering oil and other commodities at discounted prices to India and other large importers.

Before the war, India’s imports from Russia have been low due to high transportation costs, but now more Indian oil companies are likely to finalise contracts with their Russian counterparts for importing crude oil on hopes of deep discounts.

This comes at a time when global crude oil prices have surged to above $100 a barrel, with the benchmark Brent crude touching multi-year highs of near $140 a barrel at one point since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has so far exported 360,000 barrels of oil a day to India in March alone, nearly four times the 2021 average. The report cited Kpler, a commodities data and analytics firm, to say that Russia is on track to hit 203,000 barrels a day for the whole month, based on current shipment schedules, NDTV stated.