India’s major refinery snubs Russian oil over sanctions - media

The large India-based oil refinery, BPCL, discontinued purchases of Russian Sokol crude due to the reluctance of intermediary banks to proceed with transactions.

That’s according to Reuters citing a source in the company, Ukrinform reports.

The Indian oil refinery BPCL refrains from buying Russian Sokol crude oil, relying mainly on Urals, as intermediary banks do not make payments, the agency reports.

It is noted that no entities worldwide are willing to buy Sokol oil, while the number of Urals buyers has significantly decreased. Urals oil is the main Russian export grade, shipped from Western ports and mainly supplied to Asia due to the EU ban on Russian oil. India has become the largest buyer of oil delivered by sea, Reuters claims.

At the same time, BPCL noted that the strikes in the Red Sea by the Houthis did not affect the supply of Russian oil to the refinery. The company added that it is open to purchasing oil from all financially profitable sources. Although BPCL is eyeing the possibility of purchasing crude oil from Venezuela, the offers were not profitable, as the discount should be about $10 dollars, the agency emphasizes.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the import of crude oil to India from Russia has dropped for the second month in a row to the lowest level in a year, the reason for this being Western sanctions.

Photo: bharatpetroleum.in