A company official who did not wish to be identified, said:
- This has been communicated to the traders taking part in spot tenders
- The basic reason behind this step is to avoid international sanctions and payment delays
The country's largest state-owned refiner informed traders that crudes like Russia's Urals and ESPO, along with Kazakhstan's CPC Blend, will no longer be accepted on a free-on-board basis, sources said.
India, the world's 3rd-largest crude importer, imported less than 1% of its crude imports from Russia in 2021
Earlier this month before Russia invaded Ukraine, IOC had contracted 2 million mt of high sulfur Russian Urals grade for April delivery.
Sources attributed the development as an outcome of a stand taken by insurance companies to skip cargoes carrying Russian commodities, including crude.
Government-owned State Bank of India will not process any transactions coming under the purview of a US, EU or UN sanctions, a trader said.
India's import basket from Russia include crude oil, natural gas, coal, minerals, pearls, precious/semi-precious stones, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and equipment, fertilizers.
