The sources said Rosneft bought around 200,000 tons of crude from the country's No.4 oil firm Surgutneftegaz.

The sellers typically include Surgutneftegaz and No.3 oil firm TNK-BP, while buyers are represented by the independent Bashkir group of refineries and the Moscow refinery.

Rosneft bought crude as global prices fell while export duties, which are revised only once every two months, remain high, making crude oil export operations less profitable than domestic refining and subsequent exports of refined products. -Neftegaz.RU