Indian refiners seeking legal opinion to purchase sanctioned Russian oil through US waiver

Two government sources confirmed that Indian refiners were seeking legal advice on how to purchase Russian oil sanctioned by Washington after New Delhi was granted a waiver for buying crude at sea in order to reduce pressure on the global markets.

On Thursday, the U.S. granted Indian refiners an exemption from sanctions for 30 days to buy Russian oil that was loaded onto vessels starting March 5. The approval related to Russia’s oil sale to India will be valid until April 4,

Indian state refiners purchased at least 20 million barrels (or a little more) of Russian crude oil that was loaded onto vessels that were floating in international water to help ease the oil supply crunch caused by the Middle East Crisis, according to Reuters.

About 40% of the oil imported by the world's third-largest oil importer comes from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz.

One source said that refiners are only buying oil from non-sanctioned sources. They want to avoid any complications, including payment issues, if they purchase oil associated with sanctioned vessels and entities.

After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, India was the largest?buyer?of Russian seaborne crude, but its refiners began to reduce their purchases in January under pressure from Washington.

New Delhi avoided 25% tariffs by cutting its Russian oil purchases and signed an interim trade agreement with the U.S.

The stoppage of Qatar's liquefied gas production and the disruption in supplies by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have both hit India.

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

To avoid a shortage of cooking fuels, the nation has asked refiners to increase production of liquefied?gas.

The source stated that India would take additional steps to ensure there is no shortage of fuels in the country, including gasoline or gasoil. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma)

(source: Reuters)