As per the government source aware of the development said on Thursday, India's state-run refiners are jointly negotiating a long-term oil import deal with Russia.  Having said that, the source said that India and Russia are still to finalize terms with regards to payment currency and the imports. However, the sources want to stay anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter. "Joint negotiations of state refiners with Russia are already happening," the source said.

Two of the private refineries which include Nayara Energy and Reliance Industries have already signed term deals with Russian oil imports.  Russian oil giant Rosneft is partly owned by Nayara. And as per the sources, Indian private refiners might join the negotiations with their state-run peers some time later.

As Asia's third-largest economy needs "predictable and stable" oil suppliesToday, India needs to expand its refining capacity to meet the rising fuel demand, the source said. India being the world’s third largest oil importer and consumer, majority of the oil is supplied by Russia to India.

Today, India has emerged as the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne oil which is sold at a discount. This due to the as Western entities have shunned purchases due to a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia this week, India had sought energy deals with Rosneft and other leading Russian oil firms.