In light of the newly imposed sanctions, Indian oil refining companies have stopped making new contracts for Russian oil purchases, awaiting clarifications from the government and suppliers, sources told Reuters.
Some refineries are meeting their oil needs through the spot market, according to anonymous sources who are not authorized to speak to the media.
State-run Indian Oil has issued a tender for oil purchases, while conglomerate Reliance Industries has increased spot purchases, the sources said.
The EU, UK, and US have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia due to its war against Ukraine, including fresh American sanctions announced on Thursday targeting two of the largest Russian oil companies — Lukoil and Rosneft.
As previously reported, Indian refineries are preparing to sharply cut Russian oil imports in order to comply with new US sanctions, which could potentially remove a significant barrier to trade agreements with the US.
Last week, Reliance, India's largest buyer of Russian oil, stated it would comply with the sanctions while maintaining relations with current suppliers. Reuters also reported that the company plans to stop importing oil from Rosneft.
“We have not placed orders for new batches and have canceled some bookings with traders linked to sanctioned entities,” one source said.
“We need to ensure that our purchases are not connected with sanctioned individuals; otherwise, banks will not process payments,” added another source.
Another source indicated that their company is waiting to see if it can obtain shipments from non-sanctioned traders. According to the IEA, India accounted for 40% of Russia's total oil exports.