Russia has asked some Indian oil refineries to pay the dues for the supply of crude in Emirati dirhams, Reuters reported.
An invoice seen by the British news agency revealed an Indian refiner was asked to pay for deliveries in dirhams, though the figure was first calculated in dollars.
A payment in dirhams was made out to Gazprombank via Mashreq Bank, its corresponding bank in Dubai.
India’s refineries pay Russia’s oil supply dues in US dollars, while Russia seeks to undermine the dollar’s hegemony by disengaging the so-called “petrodollar,” a term referring to the link between the dollar and oil trade.
At least two Indian refiners have already settled some transactions using dirhams, and there are more to come soon, sources noted.
India has increased its imports of Russian oil, which is sold at steep discounts to other suppliers as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
During the last month, Russia surpassed Iraq as the world’s second-largest crude oil supplier to India, which is the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, while Saudi Arabia fell to second place on the list of the largest oil exporters to India.
Given the increase in India’s imports of Russian oil, the US and the EU are attempting to impose a price ceiling on Russian oil in order to dry up Russian funding sources, which are led by oil.
Within three months of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia earned $24 billion in energy sales to China and India, demonstrating how rising global prices are impeding efforts by the US and Europe to punish President Vladimir Putin.
