Indian oil refiners are urgently seeking alternatives to Russian crude, affected by recent Washington sanctions. They are turning to the spot market and engaging in discussions with Middle Eastern producers to secure long-term supplies.

The wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the U.S. on the Russian oil sector have started to dent near-term oil flows to India with state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) saying not enough cargoes are available for March.

India is now staring at the possibility of an oil shock after the U.S. decided to implement sweeping sanctions on Russia’s oil industry.

Industry officials maintain that enough oil supply is available in the global market and replacing the lost Russian oil volumes should not be difficult.

Crude oil purchases by Indian Oil Corp. may shift as the new US sanctions on Russia affect supplies from Moscow, pushing the South Asian country’s biggest refiner to seek alternatives.

India’s state refiners are rushing to speed up payments for Russian crude, hoping to complete their trades before a dramatic expansion of Washington’s curbs on Moscow’s oil industry effectively comes into force next month,

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil that was widely sanctioned by the West. That may be about to change.

Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the finance chief at Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum.