Decline in India's Russian oil imports may be temporary, Kremlin says

NEW DELHI: India's imports of Russian oil may decline for only "a brief period" as Moscow plans to boost supplies, using sophisticated technology to avert the impact of Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

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His remarks came ahead of President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to New Delhi from Thursday, looking to restore defence and energy ties as the South Asian nation is set to trim its Russian oil purchases this month to at least a three-year low.

Russia's top buyer of seaborne oil, India has cut crude imports from Moscow under pressure from Western sanctions, particularly by Washington on Moscow's top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil.

"There can be, for a very brief period of time, insignificant decreases in the volume of oil trade," Peskov told Indian journalists, in response to a question about the impact of sanctions.

WORKING TO BUILD THE NECESSARY ENVIRONMENT FOR BUYERS

Russia is the top oil supplier to India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer.

Moscow is working to build the "necessary environment" for buyers who seek its oil, Peskov said, speaking by video link organised by Russia's Sputnik news agency.

"We have deep experience in performing under regime of these illegal sanctions," Peskov added.

"We have our own technologies in doing that. We will continue to make those technologies more sophisticated should this practice of sanctions continue."

Trade between Russia and India should be secured from pressure from third countries, he said, adding that payment methods would feature in the leaders' talks.

ACTIVITIES OF INDIAN REFINERS

Indian refiners, such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, have stopped buying Russian oil.

State-run Indian Oil Corphas placed orders to buy Russian oil from non-sanctioned entities, while Bharat Petroleum Corp is in an advanced stage of negotiations for Russian oil imports.

Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft, is exclusively processing Russian oil after other suppliers pulled back, following British and EU sanctions.

Russia wants India to continue to provide support to Nayara to boost its local sale and capacity use.

Reliance Industries Ltd, formerly Russia's top Indian client, has said it loaded Russian oil cargoes "precommitted" by October 22, and will process any arriving after November 20 at its refinery geared to domestic supply.