Urals oil, Russia s flagship export blend loaded from its western ports, is mostly supplied to Asia due to a European Union embargo on Russian oil, with India becoming its top buyer for seaborne oil. Meanwhile, there have been no disruptions in BPCL receiving Russian crude due to the Red Sea crisis and the company will buy crude from any source as long as it is financially viable, head of refineries Sanjay Khanna said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week event in Goa.
Indian refiners, which rarely used to buy Russian oil, have been snapping up discounted barrels after many Western countries shunned purchases from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine. HPCL s Russian oil intake is limited by the configuration of its refineries, Joshi said, but the company is maximising the use of these cheaper so-called opportunity crudes, he added, helping "ringfence" it from risks arising from high oil prices.