Russia’s Rosneft ramps up sales to Indian Oil
MOSCOW: Russia’s Rosneft sold 700,000 tonnes of Urals oil loading from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga in May to Indian Oil Corp ( IOC), the country’s top refiner, two traders familiar with the matter said on Friday.
State- owned Rosneft allocated seven 100,000- tonne cargo loading between May 15 and 31 to IOC, according to the traders.
The flow of Urals crude to India has risen since the outbreak of the Russia- Ukraine conflict in February, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, as Western sanctions push Russian exports toward Asia.
The EU’s executive proposed a Russian oil embargo on Wednesday as part of its sixth and harshest round of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, which Russia has called a “special military operation.”
In May, IOC will load Rosneft-sourced Urals oil volumes from Baltic ports for the first time. Previously the major buyers of the cargo were trading firms Vitol and Trafigura.
However, international traders will stop purchases of oil from Rosneft after May 15 as EU sanctions over several Russian companies come into effect.
Last December IOC and Rosneft signed a term contract for supply of up to 2 million tonnes of Urals oil until the end of 2022.
Under the agreement IOC has bought several Urals cargo from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk this year.
It was not immediately clear if the May supplies come as a part of the existing contract or a new agreement.
Rosneft was negotiating supply deals with several Indian refiners including IOC, people aware of the development said last week.
Rosneft and Indian oil representatives did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
India has asked state- run energy companies to evaluate the possibility of buying European oil major BP’s stake in sanctions-hit Rosneft, two people familiar with the matter said in late April.