NEW DELHI, 05 May 2022, (TON): According to people with knowledge of the matter “India is trying to get deeper discounts on Russian oil to compensate for the risk of dealing with the OPEC+ producer as other buyers turn away.”

The people said “India is seeking Russian cargoes at less than $70 a barrel on a delivered basis to compensate for additional hurdles such as securing financing for purchases in high level talks between the two countries.”

The people said “both state and private refiners in the world's third-biggest oil importer have bought more than 40 million barrels of Russian crude since the invasion of Ukraine in late February.”

That's 20% more than Russia-to-India flows for the whole of 2021, according to Bloomberg calculations based on trade ministry data.

India which imports more than 85% of its oil is among the few remaining buyers of Russian crude, a key source of revenue for Vladimir Putin's regime. Evaporating European demand is putting severe pressure on Russia's oil industry, with the government forecasting output could drop by as much as 17% this year.