OREANDA-NEWS Russian suppliers, when trying to conclude contracts for the sale of premium grade Sokol oil, are faced with the refusal of the Indian oil refining company Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL). This is reported by Reuters with reference to a source in the company.

According to him, Western sanctions remain the reason for this behavior. This brand of oil is trading significantly above the price ceiling set at $ 60 per barrel, which does not suit buyers who prefer the less expensive Urals grade. Problems began to arise after the United States strengthened control over compliance with restrictive measures.

The head of BPCL, Sanjay Khan, previously indicated that the company does not intend to stop purchasing raw materials in Russia, but the price issue remains key. At the same time, he stressed that the supply of Urals (this variety is shipped from the ports of the Black and Baltic Seas) is stable, the activity of the Houthis in the Red Sea has not yet affected the volume of traffic.

At the end of January, the agency reported that 19 tankers with shipments of Sokol oil, which are supplied from the Far East, were frozen in one place on their way to Asia and were not moving. In total, it was about ten million barrels, for which they could not find a buyer.