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Despite US pressure to halt Russian crude imports, India raised its October oil intake to 1.48 million barrels per day. However, with new sanctions on Russian producers effective from November 21, imports are expected to fall sharply.
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New Delhi: Despite increasing pressure from the United States, India further increased its purchases of oil from Russia in October. According to Reuters, reports from shipping data agencies Kpler and OilX indicate that India purchased an average of 1.48 million barrels of oil per day in October, an increase from 1.44 million barrels per day in September.
According to OilX data, oil from Russia accounted for approximately 34 percent of India's total crude oil imports in October. Kpler estimates that India's total imports reached 1.8 million barrels per day. This clearly shows that Russia remains India's largest supplier of crude oil, providing the country with energy at discounted prices.
However, this situation is unlikely to last long. The US recently imposed new sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft. These companies have been given until November 21 to cease operations.
Following this, Indian refineries have stopped making new bookings and are now looking for alternative supplies from the spot market.
According to Kpler analyst Sumit Ritolia, imports will continue for the first three weeks of November, but a decline is certain thereafter. Reliance Industries, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), and HPCL Mittal Energy have currently stopped new purchases of Russian oil.
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MRPL has purchased 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi's Murban crude from Glencore as an alternative, while Indian Oil has issued a tender for 24 million barrels of oil from the US for the first quarter of 2026.
In 2022, after the war in Ukraine, India became the largest customer for Russian oil. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), from January to September 2025, India purchased an average of 1.9 million barrels of oil per day from Russia, representing 40% of Russia's total exports.
This allowed India to benefit from cheaper fuel and kept petrol and diesel prices under control. The difficult balancing act after pressure from the Trump administration. Amid increasing political pressure from the Donald Trump administration, India is now trying to strike a balance between economic benefits and international relations.
If India were forced to buy oil from other countries, its annual import bill could increase by $9 to $11 billion. Therefore, a decrease in imports from Russia may be seen in the coming months.
