New Delhi, March 7 -- Since the US announced a 30-day waiver on 5 March for India to procure Russian oil loaded on ships, Indian refiners have been buying both sanctioned and non-sanctioned Russian oil at sea, two people in the know of the development told Mint. Russia has been India's top oil supplier since 2022. However supplies have declined following sanctions in December on Rosneft and LUKOIL, two of Russia's largest oil producers.

"The latest waiver by the US Department of Treasury for India allows refiners to purchase oil from all Russian sources which were loaded on vessels till the specified time of 5 March, as per the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) notification. So they are trying to procure all the oil on sea that's o...