NEW DELHI—Several of India’s largest oil processors have begun settling recent purchases of Russian crude in rupees, Chinese yuan and United Arab Emirates dirhams, according to trade documents and people briefed on the transactions.
Industry officials told SourceRated that at least three March cargoes supplied by Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil were paid for outside the traditional U.S.-dollar system. One state-run refiner used the dirham via Dubai-based banks, while a private-sector buyer opted for yuan clearing through a Chinese lender. A third shipment, the sources said, was invoiced in rupees under India’s special vostro-account mechanism.
The shift comes after Western lenders intensified scrutiny of dollar-denominated letters of credit involving Russian counterparties, creating delays that “made it cheaper and faster to bill in alternative currencies,” a senior trading executive at an Indian Oil Marketing Company (OMC) said.
India has emerged as the biggest purchaser of Russian seaborne crude since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, lured by discounts of up to US$20 a barrel. While New Delhi observes the G-7 price cap, it has repeatedly argued that affordable energy remains “a sovereign necessity.”
The Reserve Bank of India last year authorised 18 banks to open special rupee vostro accounts for Russian institutions. A finance-ministry official said the central bank is “reviewing operational hiccups” and hopes to broaden the framework before the new fiscal year begins in July.
Oil-market analysts say the latest transactions underscore a gradual de-dollarisation of commodity trade. “It’s still small in volume, but every non-dollar deal chips away at petrodollar liquidity,” said Priya Nair, energy strategist at Mumbai-based consultancy IndEcon.
Not everyone is convinced the change will be lasting. Western sanctions lawyers note that many contracts ultimately reference dollar benchmarks, and Indian refiners may revert if compliance pressure eases. For now, however, traders expect at least a third of April’s Russian arrivals—roughly 500,000 barrels a day—to be cleared in non-dollar currencies.
Looking ahead, market participants will watch whether Moscow accepts rupee holdings for other commodities such as coal and fertiliser, and whether China’s yuan clearing system gains further traction among Indian buyers. A conclusive shift could redraw payment corridors across Asia’s energy landscape—and test the resilience of the petrodollar era.