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.

As Russian discounts fall to below $5 per barrel, GRMs of India public sector OMCs have already declined by about 80% in FY25 from the highs recorded in FY24.

Indian Oil Corp has purchased 7 million barrels of Middle Eastern and African crude oil, including Abu Dhabi's Murban, amid U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.

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.

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.

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.