By JAKE RUDNITSKY and ANNA ANDRIANOVA

OAO Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, signed a 10-year crude-supply deal with Essar Oil and said it intended to buy a stake in the company’s Indian refinery as its focus on Asian markets expands.

Rosneft signed the supply deal for 10 MMtpy, or 200,000 bpd, and a non-binding memorandum declaring its intention to buy a 49% stake in Essar’s Vadinar refinery at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa on Wednesday.

The state-run Russian company is turning toward Asian markets at a time when Russia’s relations with the West are at their lowest since the Cold War due to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia in May as China’s leading crude supplier and Rosneft plans to boost exports to Asia by 30% this year.

After buying into Essar’s refinery, Rosneft plans to expand the annual capacity of Vadinar to 45 million tons by 2020 from 20 million tons, or 405,000 bpd currently, according to the statement. 

The Russian company will also expand Essar’s filling station network.