Jul 31, 2025

• Indian state refiners have temporarily ceased purchasing Russian crude oil this week, primarily due to concerns over potential secondary tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump and reduced discounts on Russian oil.
• This decision by state-controlled refiners, which represent over 60% of India’s refining capacity, marks a shift from their regular imports of Russian oil since 2022.
• Indian refiners are now seeking alternative crude supplies from the Middle East and West Africa and have requested urgent guidance from the Indian oil ministry regarding future Russian oil flows.

The state refiners in India have not purchased any crude from Russia this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened secondary tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil and as discounts of Moscow’s crudes narrowed to alternatives, industry sources with knowledge of the procurement plans told Reuters on Thursday. 

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) have not attempted to buy crude from Russia in the past week, although they have regularly imported Russian oil on a delivered basis. 

Instead, the four state-controlled oil refiners, which account for over 60% of India’s refining capacity, have sought additional barrels from the Middle East and West Africa on the spot market, according to Reuters’ sources. 

The world’s third-largest crude oil importer, India, has significantly boosted Russian oil imports since 2022, when Russia’s oil was banned in the West. Russia currently accounts for about a third of India’s oil purchases, becoming the single largest crude supplier to India. 

State Indian refiners aren’t the biggest buyers of Russian crude—these are private firms Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy. 

Nayara has been encountering troubles selling its fuels outside India since it was sanctioned by the EU earlier this month due to the large ownership stake of Russia’s Rosneft in the company. 

Nayara and the other refiners in India could face a clampdown on their imports of Russian crude in the near term, as President Trump announced on Wednesday that Indian goods in the U.S. would be taxed with a 25% tariff, and India would also pay a “penalty” for buying the vast majority of its military equipment and oil from Russia, effective August 1. 

President Trump’s latest post on social media sparked concern among Indian refiners. These have reportedly asked the Indian oil ministry for urgent guidance how to proceed with crude oil flows from Russia arriving after August 1, sources with knowledge of the refiners’ procurement practices told Bloomberg on Wednesday.    

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/India-Pauses-Russian-Crude-Oil-Purchases.html