India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

India’s imports of Russian crude oil rose 4 per cent in November to a five-month high of €2.6 billion, with a large part of the refined fuels produced from it being exported to Australia, a European think tank said.

India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in November behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

It had spent €2.5 billion on buying Russian oil in October.

China has bought 47 per cent of Russia’s crude exports in November, followed by India (38 per cent), Turkiye (6 per cent), and the EU (6 per cent).

“India’s Russian crude imports recorded a 4 per cent month-on-month increase to the highest volumes in five months, even as overall import volumes remained stable,” CREA said.

“In fact, India’s purchases may well record another increase in December, as cargoes loaded before the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions kicked in are delivered through the month.”

On October 22, the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of the largest oil producers in Russia, to cut off the Kremlin’s resources for funding the Ukraine war.

The sanctions have resulted in companies like Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd halting imports for now. However, other refiners like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) continue to buy from non-sanctioned Russian entities.

“While private refiners’ imports suffered a marginal reduction, state-owned refineries increased their Russian crude volumes by 22 per cent month-on-month in November,” CREA said.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India dramatically increased Russian imports as sanctions and reduced European demand made the barrels available at steep discounts, pushing its share from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of total crude imports.

Russia supplied about 35 per cent of all crude oil that India imported in November.

That and other crude oils are refined into fuels like petrol and diesel. These fuels are consumed domestically within India as well as exported.

“In November, six refineries in India and Turkiye exported EUR 807 million of refined oil products partially made from Russian crude to the EU (€465 million), USA (€110 million), UK (€51 million), Australia (€150 million), and Canada (€31 million),” CREA said.

An estimated €301 million of these products were refined from Russian crude.

“An estimated €297 million of oil products exported by these refineries remain without a specified destination,” it said.

There was an 8 per cent month-on-month reduction in the refineries’ exports to sanctioning countries.

“By contrast, exports to Australia (€150 million) increased by 69 per cent in November. All of these cargoes originated in the Jamnagar refinery in India,” it said.

Reliance operates a giant refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat.

In November, Canada received a shipment of oil from a refinery using Russian crude for the first time in eight months, it added.

While the European Union has banned the import of fuel made from Russian oil, Australia, Canada, and the US have yet to announce a ban on oil products made from Russian crude.

Reliance used to export fuel to Europe and has since announced the stoppage of using Russian oil for making fuel meant for exports.

Published on December 12, 2025