India Steps Up Purchases of Sanctions-Free Russian Crude

India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp. and India Oil Corp. have bought Russian crude from non-sanctioned companies, with Bharat Petroleum ordering a cargo of 2 million barrels of Urals crude for January delivery, from companies other than Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed trader sources. The price tag for the cargo featured a discount of $6-$7 to Brent crude, the sources told Reuters. This is actually slimmer than the futures market difference between Urals and Brent. Brent is trading at a bit over $63 per barrel, while the…