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Russia’s Oil Exports to India Face Collapse After New US Sanctions
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Russia’s lucrative oil exports to India—which surged after Moscow invaded Ukraine—are now on the verge of collapse after the US sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, Bloomberg reported on October 23.
Senior executives at India’s top refineries said the new restrictions from Washington make continued imports “virtually impossible.”
“After the blacklisting of Russia’s biggest producers, it will be extremely difficult to keep importing,” one senior refinery official said on condition of anonymity.
Since the start of 2024, Russian crude has accounted for more than 36% of India’s total oil imports, according to energy analytics firm Kpler.
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That dependence had already drawn frustration from President Donald Trump and complicated trade talks following the US decision to impose higher tariffs on Indian goods in August.
India, traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern suppliers, only began purchasing large volumes of Russian oil in 2022 after the G7 imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap designed to restrict the Kremlin’s revenues while maintaining global supply.
Russian crude was both cheaper and technically allowed under Western rules, prompting Indian refiners to take advantage of the discount.
The Trump administration’s latest move—directly targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies—effectively ends that trade. Executives returned from the Diwali holiday to face the abrupt reality that their largest supplier had just been sanctioned.
An exception could be Nayara Energy, a Rosneft-backed Indian refinery that has been operating almost entirely on Russian crude since the EU’s sanctions took effect in July.
According to Bloomberg, the sanctions are expected to immediately reshape India’s purchasing patterns. New orders due this week for shipments in November and December are now being redirected toward other markets.
Traders say negotiations for Russia’s Urals blend have been stagnant since mid-October, when Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “agreed to wind down” Russian oil purchases.
“With this sanctions move, Indian refiners may have to pull back much faster,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based market intelligence firm Vanda Insights.
“It’ll probably be easier for India to adapt—it wasn’t buying Russian crude at all until three years ago—compared to China.”
Major state-owned refiners—Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp., and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals—did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
Reliance Industries Ltd., which maintains a long-term supply contract with Rosneft, also declined to comment. Nayara Energy, responsible for 16% of India’s Russian oil imports this year, likewise offered no immediate response.
Earlier, reports emerged that India’s state-owned refiners reduced Russian crude imports by over 45% between June and September 2025, dropping from 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in June to 600,000 bpd in September.
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