Overview
- HPCL‑Mittal Energy became the first Indian refiner to announce a suspension of Russian crude purchases and said past deliveries were received on a delivered‑at‑port basis with no OFAC‑sanctioned vessel at the point of delivery.
- Reliance and other major Indian refiners said they will comply with sanctions and have paused new Russian orders, with traders reporting increased buying of Middle Eastern grades.
- Ship‑tracking firms Kpler and Vortexa reported the Aframax Furia, loaded with about 730,000 barrels of Rosneft Urals at Primorsk, reversed course near Denmark and is idling in the Baltic Sea after initially signaling India.
- The U.S. sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil last week and set a Nov. 21 deadline to wind down transactions, with analysts expecting short‑term disruption but noting non‑U.S. entities can still legally buy Russian crude.
- Russia’s ambassador to India warned that if India reduces purchases, other buyers such as Chinese refiners could absorb the barrels, underscoring the risk that flows are rerouted rather than removed.