India's top refiner informed market participants that Das, Eugene Island, Thunder Horse and Urals crude were no longer on the list of grades under its latest tender, which closes on Tuesday, the sources said.
IOC imports crude for itself and on behalf of its Chennai Petroleum (CHPC.NS) subsidiary.
Chennai is now seeking sweet crude instead of sour oil as it has received some high-sulphur crude from IOC, one of the sources familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. President Joe Biden had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Monday that buying more oil from Russia was not in India's interest and could hamper the U.S. response to the war in Ukraine.