Oil cargoes sought by state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp. for early next year include Russian blends ESPO and Sokol, according to a tender document seen by Bloomberg.
The company welcomed offers for low-sulfur grades from regions such as West Africa and the US, but also kept its usual listing for blends from Russia’s Far East. Shipments should be delivered to Paradip and Vadinar between late January and early February, the document showed, with offers due Thursday.
IOC also specified in its buy tender that sellers are to ensure the cargo isn’t arriving from producers or terminals sanctioned by the US, United Kingdom, European Union, United Nations or India.
An IOC spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The oil-procurement patterns of Indian refiners have been in focus since US President Donald Trump earlier this year began to pressure the Asian nation to drastically reduce or stop purchases from Russia. Traders have also been keenly observing how Indian buyers, once the No. 1 importer of seaborne Russian exports, cope with the latest sanctions on major Russian producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC.
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