India remains second-largest buyer of Russian fuel with 2.5 bn euro crude purchase

India’s spending on Russian crude stayed at 2.5 billion euro in October, maintaining the same level as September even as new US sanctions on major Russian oil producers came into force, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

CREA’s latest tracking report said India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in October, behind China. Of the 3.1 billion euro worth of imports, crude oil accounted for 81 per cent (2.5 billion euro), followed by coal (351 million euro) and oil products (222 million euro).

On October 22, the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil to choke Russia’s ability to fund the Ukraine war. Following this, companies such as Reliance Industries, HPCL-Mittal Energy and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals temporarily halted imports.

Russia shipped 60 million barrels of crude in October, with Rosneft and Lukoil together accounting for 45 million barrels, CREA said.

India, traditionally dependent on Middle Eastern supplies, sharply increased its intake of discounted Russian crude after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Russian oil rising from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of India’s total crude imports over a short period.

In September, India’s overall fossil fuel purchase from Russia stood at 3.6 billion euro — 2.5 billion euro for crude, 452 million euro for coal and 344 million euro for oil products.

CREA said India’s Russian crude imports in October saw an 11 per cent month-on-month rise. Private refiners accounted for more than two-thirds of these imports, while state-owned refiners nearly doubled their volumes.

A key development highlighted in the report was at the Rosneft-owned Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, sanctioned by the EU and UK. The refinery raised its production to 90 per cent in October and has been importing crude exclusively from Russia since EU sanctions in July. Its imports rose 32 per cent month-on-month, touching their highest levels since the full-scale war began. However, exports from the refinery fell 47 per cent year-on-year, reaching their lowest since May 2023.

CREA added that imports by sanctioning countries from six Indian and Turkish refineries processing Russian crude fell 8 per cent month-on-month in October. The decline was led by the EU (down 9 per cent) and the UK (down 73 per cent).

By contrast, Australia’s imports jumped 140 per cent to 93 million euro, and US imports rose 17 per cent to 126.6 million euro, with both countries yet to restrict products refined from Russian crude.

In October, the discount on Russia’s Urals crude narrowed by 4 per cent month-on-month, averaging USD 4.92 per barrel below Brent, compared with earlier levels of USD 18–20 during the peak of Western sanctions.