Indian Oil Corp. resumed buying Russian crude oil delivered on a tanker owned by Sovcomflot PJSC this week, paving the way for a restoration of oil flows between Russia and India, after tightened US penalties had disrupted shipments.
Suezmax tanker Vladimir Tikhonov discharged around 1 million barrels of Russian flagship Urals crude at Paradip port, where Indian Oil has a refinery, on Thursday, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data. That’s the first tanker belonging to the Russian state tanker giant to deliver crude after another smaller vessel, SCF Baltica, offloaded fuel oil last week off Sikka, in the state of Gujarat.