European refineries prefer to buy alternative Urals grades of oil due to sanctions pressure – in particular, Forties and Johan Sverdrup, which are similar in quality. As a result of weak demand, the discount on Russian oil in northwestern Europe rose to $30.2 per barrel. Polish companies started buying Norwegian Johan Sverdrup oil, while Spanish, Finnish and Swedish companies received North Sea grades Asgard, Gudrun and Gina Krog in March. Some European clients have also approached Iraq's state-owned Somo for additional supplies of oil from Basra, but Iraq's export opportunities are limited, and freight rates are less favorable compared to renting ships for shipments of varieties from the North Sea. At the same time, the demand for Russian oil from Asian refiners limits the rate of Urals price reduction in the European market. In particular, Indian Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd on March 16 purchased up to 2 million barrels of Urals for delivery in early June. Earlier it was also reported that in March the export of Russian oil to India increased by 4 times.
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