India’s largest refiner and fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is optimistic about the prospects of higher energy imports from the US, particularly natural gas imports amid rising gas consumption in the country. And while IOC is also keen to step up purchases of American crude, volume growth shall be contingent upon how competitively it is priced, since high freight charges remain a concern, according to the company’s Chairman ARVINDER SINGH SAHNEY.
Regarding the outlook on oil imports from Russia in the wake of the sweeping US sanctions against Moscow’s oil trade, IOC is willing to buy Russian crude as long as the transactions are “clean” and do not carry sanctions-related risk.