The United States has clarified to India that tankers loaded with Russian oil have to discharge by Feb. 27 under the latest sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenue, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at an event.

New US sanctions on Russian oil tankers and energy companies threaten India's access to cheap crude, potentially driving up inflation and disrupting the global oil market.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil that was widely sanctioned by the West. That may be about to change.

India's state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp sees its Russian oil processing down to 20% in March from 31% this month as it awaits offers from traders, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told an analyst call on Thursday.

For India, lower crude prices are expected to be a boon as they will reduce oil import costs, narrow the current account deficit and bring inflation down.

Since the Ukraine war, India has become the second largest buyer of Russian crude oil, owing to the hefty discount Russia offered to bypass sanctions. Prior to the war, India secured most of its oil from the Middle East, with Russia not even featuring among India’s top 20 partners.

Crude oil purchases by Indian Oil Corp. may shift as the new US sanctions on Russia affect supplies from Moscow, pushing the South Asian country’s biggest refiner to seek alternatives.

Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. isn’t able to get Russian crude cargoes for March delivery, underlining how stringent US sanctions have upended Moscow’s oil trade and forced Asian buyers to seek alternatives.

Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), a state-owned oil refiner in India, anticipates a reduction in its processing of Russian oil to 20% in March, compared to 31% in the current month. This information was shared by Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta,

India's Bharat Petroleum Corp projects a decline in Russian oil processing to 20% in March from 31% in February due to unclear supply conditions. The company copes by sourcing alternatives and expanding tenders,