Russian oil giant Rosneft announced on Wednesday that it has signed a contract with an Indian partner to “significantly increase” deliveries of Russian oil, as Moscow, targeted by a Western embargo, seeks to redirect its sales to Asia.
During a trip to India by its boss, Igor Sechin, “Rosneft and the Indian Oil Company have signed a forward agreement to significantly increase oil supplies and diversify grades to India,” the agency said. Russian state enterprise in a statement.
Rosneft did not specify the amount of the signed contract, nor the volumes decided within the framework of this agreement.
This announcement comes a day after Russia announced that its oil exports to India have increased 22 times in 2022.
Targeted by heavy Western economic sanctions and embargoes on its hydrocarbons because of its offensive against Ukraine, Russia is trying to redirect its oil and gas exports to other countries, particularly in Asia.
India and China, major energy consumers, are at the forefront of the countries on which Moscow is counting to compensate for lost contracts in Europe.
While these new outlets have enabled Moscow to partly compensate for lost markets in Europe, its dependence on Asian heavyweights allows China and India to negotiate lower prices.
“The parties also discussed (..) the possibilities of making payments in national currencies,” Rosneft said in its statement on Wednesday, as Russia tries to dedollarize its economy to be less dependent on Washington.
Indian companies are partners of Rosneft in several of its major projects in Russia, including the exploitation of the gigantic Vankor oil and gas field (49.9% shareholders of the operating subsidiary Vankorneft).
According to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce, quoted in the press release, last year Russia became for the first time in history one of the five main trading partners of India, the volume of trade between the countries reaching $38.4 billion.