The United States has clarified to India that tankers loaded with Russian oil have to discharge by Feb. 27 under the latest sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenue, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at an event.

India’s state refiners are rushing to speed up payments for Russian crude, hoping to complete their trades before a dramatic expansion of Washington’s curbs on Moscow’s oil industry effectively comes into force next month,

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil that was widely sanctioned by the West. That may be about to change.

The wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the US on the Russian oil sector have started to dent near-term oil flows to India with state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) saying not enough cargoes are available for March.

Indian refiners have stopped dealing with U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers and entities but the country does not expect disruption to Russian crude supplies during a two-month wind-down period, a government source said on Monday.

The wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the U.S. on the Russian oil sector have started to dent near-term oil flows to India with state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) saying not enough cargoes are available for March.

Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here.Oil refiners in India are reaching for all available options in the rush to make up for Russian flows hit by Washington’s latest round of sanctions,

Chinese and Indian refiners will source more oil from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, boosting prices and freight costs.

Crude oil purchases by Indian Oil Corp. may shift as the new US sanctions on Russia affect supplies from Moscow, pushing the South Asian country’s biggest refiner to seek alternatives.