MOSCOW (TASS) — Rosneft and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have signed a contract to supply up to 2 mln tonnes of oil to India via the port of Novorossiysk by the end of 2020, Russia’s oil major said in a statement on Wednesday.

The contract was signed as part of the visit of Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft Igor Sechin to New Delhi. During that visit, a working meeting was also held with Indian minister of oil and gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

For many years, India had been importing cheap oil from Iran. Because of the severe sanctions imposed by the United States, India has been under pressure to find alternative sources of supply to fuel its booming economic engine.