India plans to buy more Russian oil – Bloomberg

Large Indian refineries are increasingly turning to smaller and less-known private traders to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the bureaucracy involved in negotiating directly with Russian producers slows down the process of procuring supplies, which has pushed refiners to turn to smaller firms to facilitate deliveries.

Such intermediaries reportedly include the companies Wellbred and Montfort, Indian refinery officials told the news outlet on the condition of anonymity. Neither company responded to requests for comment, nor did state refinery Indian Oil Corp or Russia’s Rosneft, Bloomberg notes.

India has stepped up purchases of Russian oil in recent months, taking advantage of discounts Russia offered on its supplies amid Western sanctions, which drove away some of the country’s traditional buyers. India, the world’s third largest oil consumer, imported a record 1 million barrels of Russian oil per day in July, Bloomberg reported, citing data from analytics firm Kpler. This is up from the previous record of around 950,000 barrels per day in June.

“Indian refiners are willing to take the risk of dealing with these new, little-known traders because the discounts must be too good to pass up. We know the Indian refiners want the Russian cargoes on a delivered basis. So as long as the new traders are fulfilling that need, it works,” Vandana Hari, founder of analytics firm Vanda Insights, told the news outlet.

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