Indian state-owned refiners to sign annual Russian crude deals

Indian state refiners are close to signing their first annual deals to buy Russian oil as the country looks to diversify supply, Reuters reports. 

India is the third largest crude oil consumer and imports most of its needs. The Middle East accounted for about 60% of Indian crude imports in 2019, but it’s share has been falling in recent years. Refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) told Russia’s Rosneft that it intends to buy as much as 40K b/d of Russian crude.

India imports Russian crude on a spot basis, but transportation costs often make it un-economical.