India Wants Long-Term Supply Deal For Russian Crude Oil, Urges Refiners To Negotiate Jointly: Report

Since India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil in the past couple of years, it now wants oil refiners, both state-run and private like Reliance Industries Ltd, to negotiate a long-term supply deal.

With the intention to shield the nation's economy from volatile oil prices, India wants the refiners to book at least one-third of their contracted supply at a fixed discount from Russia.

However, as per The Economic Times, Reliance is unlikely to enter this joint deal as it competes with the state-run refiners in the domestic market.

India has been exporting crude oil from Russia since the Ukraine war began and exporting some amount of it after refining it domestically.

While Moscow is offering crude oil at a discount of $3 for a barrel, Indian state refiners seek a discount of $5. The government feels that a joint negotiation can boost our bargaining powers.

Earlier, Indian Oil had a long-term supply deal with Russia, but that expired at the end of March. It hasn’t been renewed yet due to the inability to reach a consensus on volumes and price.