India’s biggest state-held refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), is looking to buy non-sanctioned Russian crude oil for delivery in early 2026, a tender document seen by Bloomberg showed on Wednesday.
IOC is also looking for crude supply from the United States and West Africa in the tender, which specifies that the sellers must ensure that the Russian Far Eastern grades ESPO and Sokol don’t come from producers, traders, or export terminals sanctioned by the U.S., the EU, the UK, or India.
Last month, following the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil producers and exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, IOC reportedly bought five cargoes of Russian crude from non-sanctioned entities for arrival in December.
IOC has bought about 3.5 million barrels of Russia’s ESPO crude at about the same price as the Dubai quotes for delivery at an eastern Indian port in December, a trade sources told Reuters, without naming the sellers of the Russian oil.
The U.S. sanctions Russia’s top two producers sent Indian refiners rushing to replace volumes from these exporters and their affiliates with barrels from other countries, and with Russian barrels moved by unsanctioned entities.
IOC has vowed that it would fully comply with international sanctions related to crude oil imports from Russia.
IOC is also looking to buy 24 million barrels of crude oil from the Americas in the first quarter of next year to replace lost Russian supply.
All but two Indian refiners have skipped placing orders for Russian crude for December after the U.S. sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, sources with knowledge of the purchases told Bloomberg earlier this week.
Indian refiners are pivoting away from Russian crude and are buying additional barrels from the Middle East and the Americas to offset what is expected to be a steep decline in Russian loadings in December and January.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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