India's HPCL resumes Russian oil purchases, sources say

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - India's state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp has resumed purchase of Russian oil after a gap of three months, buying two cargoes for arrival later this month, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The refiner placed an order for two aframax tankers carrying Russian oil before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, the sources said.

HPCL purchased the oil from a trader at a discount of around $13 per barrel to dated Brent on a delivered basis, the sources said.

HPCL did not immediately respond to a request for comment and has not commented previously on why it stopped buying Russian oil.

India's imports of Russian crude fell to about 1.1 million barrels per day in January, the lowest since November 2022, as New Delhi sought relief from U.S. tariffs, pushing Moscow’s share of overall oil imports down to 21.2%, industry data showed.

However, a source said on Wednesday that the share of Russian oil could climbed back to around 30% in February.