RoydadNaft –  The average landed price of Russian oil for Indian refineries in September eased from August, according to Indian government data, indicating widening discounts.

Spot discounts for Russian crude in September started to widen as Indian refiners reduced purchases due to high prices and maintenance outages, Reuters reported in August.

India bought Russian oil at an average price of about $81.7 per barrel, compared to about $86 per barrel in August, according to Reuters’ calculations based on the latest data posted on the Indian Trade Ministry’s website.

India depends on imports to meet more than 80% of its overall oil needs and rarely bought Russian oil in the past due to high transportation costs.

But it has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude as western nations shunned purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian oil has mostly traded above the price cap since mid-July, as discounts narrowed due to output cuts by OPEC+ producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The average price paid by India for Russian oil in September was lower than for barrels from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which averaged $83.56 and $96.16, respectively, the data showed.