Indian Oil Corporation buys 3 million barrels of Russia Urals crude amid western sanctions: Report
New Delhi | Jagran Business Desk: Indian Oil Corporation, one of country’s largest oil companies, bought 3 million barrels of Russian Ural from Geneva-based energy and commodities trader Vitol for May delivery, news agency Reuters reported while quoting its sources. This is India’s first purchase of Russian grade Ural, since Moscow began the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The Reuters report further quoted its sources as saying that IOC did not see any problem in paying for the cargo, since ‘oil as a commodity is not banned’ and that it was not dealing with a sanctioned entity.
Vitol sold the cargoes at a discount of $20-$25 a barrel to dated Brent, the report further quoted its sources as saying. Separately, IOC also bought 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and one million barrels each of Nigeria’s Akpo and Forcados, and Cameroon’s Kole, it added.
Previously, in late February, Indian Oil Corporation had commented that it would buy Russian oil on ‘delivered basis’, in order to avoid any complication relating to fixing vessels and insurance.
On February 24, just on the day when Russian invasion of Ukraine began, it was reported that Indian Oil Corporation bought Russian Urals for the first time in two years.
In a tender seeking high-sulphur oil, IOC had bought 2 million barrels of Urals crude from European traders Vitol and Trafigura, which will be delivered in April. The latest Urals buy will be delivered in May.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) no longer accepts the cargoes of Russian crude oil and Kazakh CPC Blend cargoes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis due to insurance risk. FOB is a term used in maritime trade parlance to indicate whether the seller or the buyer is liable for goods that are damaged or destroyed during shipping.
