Russia's Rosneft signs deal with Indian Oil to supply crude oil in 2022

 Rosneft has signed a deal to supply refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) with up to 2 million tonnes of crude next year

MOSCOW/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Rosneft has signed a deal to supply refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) with up to 2 million tonnes of crude next year, the Russian oil producer said in a press release on its website.

"The new oil supply deal confirms the strategic nature of the long-term partnership between Rosneft and Indian Oil", the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin said in a statement.

The deal was signed on Monday among a number of other agreements made during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India.

Rosneft will supply up to 2 million tonnes of Russian oil loading from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

The deal follows several supply agreements between the companies in recent years.

India's top refiner is also seeking collaboration with Russian petrochemicals company SIBUR to explore the feasibility of setting up a dual-feed cracker along with downstream units at IOC's 300,000 barrel per day Paradip refinery in eastern Odisha state, an Indian foreign ministry statement said.

A potential technical tie-up between Gazprom Neft and IOC will also be explored, the statement said.

IOC is also a shareholder in several Rosneft production projects in Russia, including Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryah.