Indian state-owned refiners stopped buying Russian crude last week as discounts narrowed this month and US President Donald Trump warned of additional sanctions for buying oil from Russian Federation, Reuters reported, citing its refining industry sources.
India is the world’s third-largest oil importer, and the country is also the largest buyer of Russian crude transported by sea.
The country’s state-owned refiners – Indian Oil Corp (IOC. NS), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL. NS), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL. NS) and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL. NS) – have not bid for Russian crude in the past week, four sources with knowledge of the refiners’ purchase plans told Reuters.
IOC, BPCL, HPCL, MRPL and India’s federal oil ministry have not yet responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
As Reuters notes, private refiners Reliance Industries (RELI. NS) and Nayara Energy are India’s largest buyers of Russian crude, but state-owned refineries control more than 60 per cent of India’s total refining capacity – 5.2 million barrels per day.
On 14 July, Trump threatened tariffs of 100% on countries that buy Russian oil if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine.