Russian Oil Offered To India At Deep Discount After US Sanctions

Russia's flagship Urals crude is being offered to India's refiners at the cheapest price in at least two years after US sanctions on top producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC upended a lucrative trade.

The price of Urals for Indian refiners has slipped to a discount of as much as $7 a barrel to Dated Brent on a delivered basis, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. The offer is for cargoes loading in December and arriving in January, they added.

Most Indian refiners have skipped placing orders for Russian crude that would arrive after sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil took effect last week, all but ending a trade that flourished after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as India took advantage of a steady flow of cheaper oil.

In recent days, however, the tone across Indian refiners has changed due to the cheaper Urals prices, with some processors now open to purchasing Russian oil from non-sanctioned sellers, the people said. Still, only around a fifth of the cargoes being offered are free from non-blacklisted entities, they added.

Prior to the sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, the discount for Urals was at around $3 a barrel. Since the US sanctions, which add to similar curbs on Gazprom Neft PJSC and Surgutneftegas PJSC, India's refiners have purchased more crude from other regions including the Middle East.

The Urals blend is shipped from Russia's western ports.