India’s state-run refiners Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. have resumed buying Russian crude for September and October loading after widening discounts made the barrels economical again, according to company officials. The firms halted spot purchases in July under U.S. pressure but returned once Urals crude was offered at roughly US$3 a barrel, or about 5%, below comparable grades. The restart comes days before Washington’s additional 25% tariff on Indian exports takes effect on Aug. 28 in response to New Delhi’s continued intake of Russian oil. At a press briefing in Delhi, Russian chargé d’affaires Roman Babushkin said Moscow has a “very, very special mechanism” that will keep supplies steady and noted that around 90% of bilateral trade is now settled in rupees and roubles. Babushkin added that President Vladimir Putin plans to visit New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the end of the year and that overall India-Russia commerce is projected to expand 10% annually, with a goal of reaching US$100 billion by 2030. Russia is also offering Indian exporters greater access to its market should U.S. tariffs curb their sales elsewhere. On the diplomatic front, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Moscow on 19 August to co-chair the 26th session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation with First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and to meet Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 20 August. While India readjusts its buying, analysts say Chinese refiners have already booked at least 15 cargoes of Russian crude for October and November, underscoring intensifying competition between Asia’s two biggest energy importers for discounted Russian barrels.