India's Russian crude imports hit peak, again
New Delhi: India's imports of Russian crude oil rose to a record for the second consecutive month in July, underscoring the country's continued reliance on
New Delhi: India's imports of Russian crude oil rose to a record for the second consecutive month in July, underscoring the country's continued reliance on discounted Russian supplies even as Western sanctions have tightened restrictions on Moscow's energy exports.Indian buyers imported Russian crude worth 5.5 billion euros in July, up 2.1 per cent from June, according to data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).Crude accounted for 87 per cent of India's total Russian fossil fuel purchases during the month.Also Read: US Senate Russia sanctions vote raises risk for Indian crude supplies, says KplerIn June, India bought Russian crude worth 4.5 billion euro, accounting for 83 per cent of its total Russian fossil fuel imports of 5.5 billion euro.The 2.1 per cent rise is in volume terms and not value.India's dependence on Russian crude has surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when Western sanctions and an exodus of European buyers left Moscow offering deep discounts to Asian refiners.Russia supplied less than 1,00,000 barrels per day to India in 2021, or about 2.5 per cent of its crude imports, according to the US Energy Information Administration.The volume rose to about 7,40,000 bpd in 2022 and nearly 1.8 million bpd in 2023, making Russia India's largest crude supplier with about 39 per cent of imports that year.Also Read: Indian refiners come to the rescue of Russia’s oil exporters The dependence has since grown further.
Indian refiners imported a record 2.8 million bpd of Russian crude in July 2026, accounting for about 55.5 per cent of total crude imports of just over 5 million bpd. That compares to roughly 1.8 million bpd on average in 2024."India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in July 2026, importing a total of 6.4 billion euros worth of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil constituted 87 per cent of India's purchases, totalling 5.5 billion euros. Coal (512 million euros) and oil products (341 million euro) constituted the remainder of their monthly Russian imports," CREA said.The increase in crude purchases in July was driven primarily by a rise in imports through smaller terminals, rather than through India's two largest recipients of Russian crude, Jamnagar and Paradip.Imports through HMEL Mundra rose 58 per cent from June, while volumes received at Indian Oil's Vadinar SMPL terminal increased 35 per cent. Imports through Mumbai rose 37 per cent. Volumes at Jamnagar, one of the world's largest refining complexes, were unchanged from the previous month, while imports through Paradip fell 22 per cent.The shift in import flows meant that India's record monthly intake was not dependent on higher volumes at its two largest Russian-crude receiving terminals. Instead, increased receipts at several other ports more than offset the decline at Paradip.India has emerged as the second-largest buyer of Russian crude since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, accounting for 37 per cent of Russia's crude oil exports over the period covered by CREA's analysis, behind China at 50 per cent.The continued growth in Indian purchases comes as Russia's overall fossil fuel export revenues weakened.
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