Indian refiners seek legal view to buy sanctioned Russian oil under US waiver

NEW DELHI: Indian refiners are seeking a legal opinion on how they can purchase sanctioned Russian oil after Washington granted New Delhi a waiver to buy crude stranded at sea to ease pressure on global markets, two government sources said on Friday.

The U.S. on Thursday allowed Indian refiners a 30-day waiver from sanctions to buy Russian oil loaded on vessels as of March 5. Approval related to Russia’s oil sale to India is valid until April 4.

Indian state refiners have snapped up at least 20 million barrels of prompt Russian oil loaded on vessels floating in international waters to help navigate the oil supply crunch triggered by the Middle East crisis, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The world’s third-biggest oil importer gets about 40% of its oil imports from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz.

“So far refiners have bought only non-sanctioned oil,” one of the sources said, adding refiners want to avoid complications including payment problems if they buy oil linked to sanctioned entities and vessels.

Oil set for steepest weekly gain since 2020 as Middle East conflict spreads

India was the top buyer of Russian seaborne crude after Moscow’s 2022 Ukraine invasion, but in January, its refiners started to reduce purchases under pressure from Washington.

Cutting Russian oil purchases helped New Delhi avoid 25% tariffs and clinch an interim trade deal with the U.S.

India has been hit by the stoppage of liquefied natural gas production by Qatar and the disruption to supplies from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.

India has cut gas supplies to industries, including fertiliser plants, refineries and petrochemical plants.

The nation has already asked refiners to boost production of liquefied petroleum gas to avoid any shortage of cooking fuels in the country.

This source said India will take more steps if required to avoid any shortage of fuels, including gasoline and gasoil, in the country.