Deliveries are expected to reach about 1.1 million barrels per day in December, the lowest since November 2022, according to analytics firm Kpler, which tracks shipment data. Still, that is higher than a forecast made by Indian officials earlier this month after the latest U.S. restriction on Russian energy.
Indian demand for Russian crude fell in recent months as buyers grappled with heightened US scrutiny of the trade. Shipments fell in July but rose again after some refiners, including state-owned Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp., returned to purchasing the cheaper barrels.
Reliance, India’s largest private refiner, has halted Russian oil purchases after the US sanctioned Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC in late October, giving importers a month to complete transactions with the two producers. The major processor has now started purchasing barrels from non-blacklisted suppliers.
The Russian crude is used at Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, which produces fuels for the domestic market, rather than for export.
Total Russian oil deliveries to India fell to just 712,000 barrels per day in the second week of December before rising again, according to Kpler, which estimates November imports at 1.8 million barrels. Indian officials had forecast daily flows would reach 800,000 barrels this month.
The decline in December imports follows the pause by Reliance – previously the biggest buyer – while figures from Kpler showed lower flows to the HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd oil terminal. Mundra show, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. which will no longer purchase barrels this month for the first time since September 2022.
Reliance, HMEL and MRPL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India’s imports of Russian crude could also get a boost from Nayara Energy Ltd., a company backed by Rosneft and sanctioned by Europe. The processor plans to postpone planned maintenance at its Vadinar refinery, originally scheduled for early next year, potentially supporting higher Russian oil purchases.
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Published on December 30, 2025
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