Rosneft’s Russian-flagged oil tanker Akademik Gubkin | Photo credit: YORUK ISIK
Five major Indian refiners have not placed orders for Russian oil for the next month, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the trade. Normally, crude oil deals for the next month are closed around the 10th of the current month.
The shift in sourcing by the world’s third-largest oil importer comes after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on all Indian imports to 50% in August, then imposed sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil producers – Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC – last month. India had become heavily dependent on competitively priced Russian crude in recent years and faced accusations from the US that it was helping finance the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
According to Kpler data, the five refineries — Reliance Industries Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. – accounting for two-thirds of India’s imports of Russian oil so far this year.
Their caution may be partly due to trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. Trump said Monday that the two countries were coming “pretty close” to a deal. India has pledged to buy more crude oil from the US as part of the talks, the people said.
Only two processors – Indian Oil Corp. and Nayara Energy Ltd. – bought some Russian crude oil for December. The IOC has been buying from non-sanctioned sellers, while Nayara, which is partly owned by Rosneft, continues to rely solely on Russian crude.
In the spot market, traders have offered Russian cargo from non-sanctioned suppliers at discounts of $3 to $4 a barrel, the people said. However, Indian buyers are reluctant to buy the crude due to a lengthy and complicated due diligence process to ensure no sanctioned entities are involved in the supply chain, they said.
India has gotten 36% of its crude oil imports from Russia this year, but finding alternatives will be made a lot easier by a looming global oil glut. The IOC wanted to buy as many as 24 million barrels from America for January and March delivery, and Hindustan Petroleum recently took 4 million barrels of American and Middle Eastern grades for January arrival.
Refineries have also reached out to traditional suppliers in the Persian Gulf to make up for lost Russian barrels. State-owned companies met with executives from Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co last week. on the sidelines of an industry conference in Abu Dhabi and assured of security of supply, people familiar with the talks said.
More stories like this are available at bloomberg.com
Published on November 11, 2025
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