New Delhi: India will sharply reduce direct imports of Russian crude oil starting late November, following new US sanctions targeting Russia’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. The sanctions, effective November 21, aim to curtail Moscow’s energy exports amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Reliance Industries, India’s largest private refiner and biggest buyer of Russian crude, has already cut imports by 24% in October to 534,000 barrels per day and plans to halt Russian purchases completely. State-owned refiners Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd have also announced suspension of Russian oil imports.

Together, these three refiners accounted for over half of India’s 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian crude imports in the first half of 2025. Maritime intelligence firm Kpler expects a sharp decline in Russian crude shipments to India beginning in December, with partial recovery expected in early 2026 through intermediaries and rerouted logistics.

To offset the reduced Russian supplies, Indian refiners are importing more crude from the Middle East, Latin America, West Africa, Canada, and the United States. US crude imports to India reached 568,000 barrels per day in October, the highest since March 2021. Reliance has increased imports from Saudi Arabia by 87% and Iraq by 31% in recent months.

However, Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery, partly owned by Rosneft and under EU sanctions, continues to import Russian crude, operating near full capacity.

Although Russia remained India’s top crude supplier in October, accounting for about 35% of total imports, direct Russian crude shipments are expected to decline significantly due to the new sanctions. Future Russian oil imports to India will likely depend on more complex trading routes and intermediaries to comply with sanctions restrictions.