During a trip to India by its boss, Igor Sechin, "Rosneft and the Indian Oil Company have signed an agreement to significantly increase oil supplies and diversify grades to India," the Russian state-owned company said in a statement.
Rosneft did not specify the amount of the contract signed, nor the volumes decided as part of this agreement.
The announcement comes a day after Russia announced that its oil exports to India have increased 22-fold in 2022.
Targeted by heavy Western economic sanctions and embargoes on its hydrocarbons because of its offensive against Ukraine, Russia is trying to redirect its oil and gas exports to other countries, especially in Asia.
India and China, major energy consumers, are at the forefront of countries on which Moscow relies to make up for lost contracts in Europe.
While these new outlets have allowed Moscow to partially compensate for lost markets in Europe, its dependence on Asian heavyweights allows China and India to negotiate prices downwards.
"The parties also discussed ... opportunities to make payments in national currencies," Rosneft said in a statement Wednesday, as Russia tries to de-dollarize its economy to be less dependent on Washington.
Indian companies are partners of Rosneft in several of its major projects in Russia, including the exploitation of the gigantic Vankor oil and gas field (49.9% shareholders of the operating subsidiary Vankorneft).
According to data from India's Ministry of Commerce, cited in the statement, Russia last year became one of India's top five trading partners for the first time in history, with the volume of trade between the countries reaching $38.4 billion.
© 2023 AFP