Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), India’s biggest oil company, said on Monday that it will comply with all applicable sanctions regarding purchases from Russia. "We will abide by all sanctions imposed by the international community," said IOC Chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney.
He, however, refused to comment on the IOC's purchases of Russian oil. Data shows that Russian oil made up 21% of the crude oil IOC imported during April-September.
Indian refiners are likely to cut down or pause the import of Russian oil to avoid secondary sanctions on shipping and banking after the US imposed fresh sanctions with a view to curbing Moscow's earnings from oil sales.
IOC's subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) has halved Russian oil imports this month, coinciding with the fresh sanctions the US imposed on Russian oil.
US President Donald Trump on October 22 had imposed sanctions on Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending its war on Ukraine. A day later, the European Union imposed full transaction bans on Rosneft and Russian gas firm Gazprom Neft.
Last week, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd pledged full compliance with the Western sanctions on Russian crude imports while expressing confidence that its diversified sourcing strategy will maintain operational stability.
Reliance, which has a 25-year term contract with Rosneft to buy up to 5,00,000 barrels per day of crude and is India's largest importer of Russian oil, may be the first company to stop importing oil from the sanctioned nation. The Indian government, so far, has not officially responded to the sanctions announced by the US.