Indian OMCs confident of retaining discounts on Russian crude oil

Before the war in Ukraine, Indian refiners had bought Russian oil rarely due to the high freight costs involved

Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are confident that they would be able to secure discounts in the short-term for Russian crude, officials at several OMCs told Business Standard.

The price of Russian Urals-grade crude is trading close to the $60-limit, beyond which, sanctions will take hold. Since April, the majority of Russian oil sold to India has been on the Dubai benchmark, with an average discount level of $8-10 per barrel.

While the level of discounts has continuously shrunk this year as China has snapped up larger volumes of Russian crude, industry insiders say India has been promised discounts and