Crude oil purchases by Indian Oil Corp. may shift as the new US sanctions on Russia affect supplies from Moscow, pushing the South Asian country’s biggest refiner to seek alternatives.

Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the finance chief at Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum.

Indian banks has begun blocking payments for Russian oil imports following the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia's oil industry, according to a report from Energy Intelligence, an energy information company.