Posted on 12/27/2023 12:10:44 AM PST by dennisw
Moscow has been on a drive to replace the use of the US dollar in international trade, but there are barrels of Russian oil stuck at sea due to issues with paying in alternative currencies.
Shipments of Russian Sokol grade crude oil to state-owned Indian Oil Corp, or IOC, have been delayed by payment issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The seller is the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft. The problem arose because Rosneft unit selling the oil hasn't been able to open a bank account in the United Arab Emirates to receive payments in the UAE dirham, per Reuters.
This delayed six cargoes of Sokol oil the IOC was supposed to receive from late November to December, Reuters reported, citing shipping data. So the cargoes have mostly been lingering at sea around India and Sri Lanka.
IOC and Rosneft did immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider
It isn't immediately clear how much Sokol oil is stuck at sea due to the payment issue.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported about five million barrels of Sokol oil that were being shipped from Russia to India never arrived.
The problems with paying for Sokol oil highlight issues of dealing with Russia amid sweeping sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
India has emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil following swathes of Western sanctions against Moscow. This means that dollar trade with Russia is restricted — and this is important since the greenback is the international trade currency of choice.
To be able to buy Russian oil, India insisted on settling trades in the rupee earlier this year. That's because using US dollars could expose it to secondary sanctions, and it worries about acquiring rubles at a fair rate on the open market.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
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F off Russian SPamming clown and have a Happy New Year
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