Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is seeking high-sulphur oil from the spot market in its first sour crude import tender since March 2022, expecting the latest U.S. sanctions to hit supplies from Moscow, trade sources said on Thursday.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is seeking high-sulphur oil from the spot market due to expected impacts from new U.S. sanctions on Russian supplies. Indian and Chinese refiners are looking for alternatives. IOC also issued a tender for sweet crude.

India is now staring at the possibility of an oil shock after the U.S. decided to implement sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil industry.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's top refiner by capacity, is seeking to buy high-sulphur oil through spot tenders, its first sour crude import tenders since March 2022, trade sources said on Thursday.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal indicated that India had no plans to reduce oil purchases from Russia following the US sanctions

It is India's first tender for sour crude imports since March 2022. IOC and other Indian refiners have significantly increased purchases of Russian oil over the past two years, taking advantage of discounted prices after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.