Photo: hmel.in

Agencies Bloomberg and Reuters confirmed the words of US President Donald Trump that India has significantly reduced purchases of Russian oil .

Five major oil refiners - Reliance Industries, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, and HPCL-Mittal Energy - have refused to buy oil from Russia for December.

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These companies previously accounted for two-thirds of India's imports of Russian oil, according to Kpler.

Their caution may be partially explained by the trade negotiations between India and the United States. On Monday, Trump said the two countries were "pretty close" to a deal. According to sources, India has promised to buy more oil from the US as part of the negotiations.

Indian buyers have found a replacement for Russian oil in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

Only two refiners, Indian Oil and Nayara Energy, purchased some Russian oil for delivery in December. Indian Oil made purchases from non-sanctioned companies, while Nayara, partially owned by Rosneft, continues to rely exclusively on Russian oil.

Currently, traders on the spot market are offering Russian oil from suppliers that are not subject to sanctions at a discount of $3-4 per barrel. However, Indian buyers are in no hurry to buy this oil because the procedure for checking whether there are any sanctioned companies in the supply chain is complicated and long.

  • On October 22, the United States imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies and called on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire. The two largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were sanctioned. Restrictions were also imposed on a number of subsidiaries of Russian oil giants.