Tanker U‑Turn; India Will Buy Russian Oil If Compliant

Indian Oil Corporation says it will continue buying Russian crude so long as transactions comply with U.S. sanctions and maintains a database of sanctioned entities; Russian crude itself is not sanctioned. A Rosneft-loaded Aframax, the Furia, which lifted about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude at Primorsk bound for Sikka in Gujarat, made a sudden U-turn and is now idling in the Baltic, a visible sign of transport disruption after the new U.S. measures. The United States has blacklisted Rosneft and Lukoil and ordered transactions with them to be wound down by Nov. 21, prompting Reliance, state refiners and other Indian buyers to pause or wind down purchases and increase orders of Middle Eastern crude. Ship-tracker and market-intelligence data (Kpler, Vortexa) and industry executives warn of short-term disruption to Russian flows, though analysts note the measures are not full secondary sanctions and purchases by non-U.S. entities remain legally permissible. The measures could push Russian sellers to seek new buyers or alternative shipping and payment routes and risk upward pressure on global oil prices, even as New Delhi stresses protecting consumers and compliance with applicable sanctions.