Indian Oil Corp, India’s largest refiner, has bought around 7 million barrels of crude oil for March loading, including supplies from Brazil’s Petrobras, to replace Russian oil.
| Photo Credit:
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Indian Oil Corp
, the country’s top refiner, has bought 7 million
barrels of oil, including from Brazil’s Petrobras, for March
loading to replace Russian oil, two trade sources familiar with
the matter said.
Indian refiners are recalibrating their strategies to shift
away from top supplier Russia and boost imports from the Middle
East, a move that could help New Delhi clinch a trade deal with
the United States to lower tariffs.
The refiner has purchased 1 million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s
Murban grade from Shell and 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum
from trader Mercuria, the sources said. IOC has also acquired 1
million barrels each of Angola’s Hungo and Clove from Exxon,
they added.
IOC also bought 2 million barrels of Brazil’s Buzios oil
from Petrobras under its optional contract that provides
flexibility to strike a deal at mutually agreed terms, the
sources said.
The pricing details were not immediately available.
Oil buyers and sellers typically do not comment on such
deals due to confidentiality agreements.
India’s Russian oil imports fell to their lowest level
in two years in December, while the share of imports from OPEC
nations hit an 11-month high, trade data showed.
India emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian
seaborne crude following the start of the Ukraine war in 2022,
but refiners in the country scaled down Russian oil purchases
following tougher Western sanctions on Russia’s top producers in
October.
IOC last month purchased its first Colombian oil under an
optional supply deal with state oil company Ecopetrol and for
the first time bought Ecuadorean Oriente crude.
Published on January 23, 2026
