In a company-to-company deal, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, India's biggest oil company, has signed a deal with a Russian oil group to import three million barrels of crude, NDTV reported, citing sources.
This comes as western countries and allies, led by the United States, have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February. Russia is offering oil at heavy discounts amid a global price rise.
India however, has not officially condemned the invasion. “We are a major oil importer and we are looking at all options at all points, we need the energy,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, 17 March.
The White House has said moves by India to procure crude from Russia would not be a violation of its sanctions on Russia. Several European countries continue to buy Russian oil, including Germany, Italy, France,.
Legitimate Energy Deals Shouldn't be Politicised, Says India
India on Friday, 18 March, said that its legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised and countries self-sufficient in crude oil or those importing it from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading, PTI reported.
India has to keep focusing on competitive energy sources and it welcomes offers from all oil producers as geopolitical developments have posed significant challenges to the country's energy security, sources told the agency.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said that India taking the Russian offer would not be a violation of the US sanctions, but underlined that countries should think about "where you want to stand when history books are written".
"Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact," Psaki added.
India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. It imports nearly 85 percent of its crude oil requirement, which translates to about five million barrels a day.
Russia has never been a major supplier of oil to India. This is because of high transportation costs, but that could change due to the heavy discounts.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the government had been holding discussions at the "appropriate level of the Russian federation" regarding the purchase of oil.
(With inputs from NDTV and PTI)
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