ECONOMY
India’s Russian oil imports set for a big plunge after US sanctions on Rosneft, Lukoil
- IBJ Bureau
- Oct 24, 2025
Refiners in India – particularly Reliance Industries (RIL) – are set to reduce imports of Russian oil sharply after the Donald Trump administration announced sanctions on State-run oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. The two companies account for about 60 per cent of the volumes purchased by Indian refiners.
RIL will have to stop importing oil under its long-term deal to buy nearly 5,00,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Rosneft. RIL – the country’s largest buyer of Russian crude oil, accounting for roughly half of the country’s 1.7 million barrels per day of imports from Moscow – has no option but to recalibrate its imports.
“Reliance will be fully aligned to GoI (Government of India) guidelines,” a Reliance spokesman has said in response to a query from the Reuters on whether the company plans to cut its crude oil imports from Russia.
Nayara Energy, in which Rosneft holds a 49.13 per cent stake, is the other big private sector buyer of Russian oil. The company, which operates a 20-million-tonne-a-year oil refinery in Vadinar in Gujarat, has already been sanctioned by the European Union, and it may have to recalibrate its purchases.
Oil prices immediately spiked in response to the sanctions, with the Brent advancing as much as 5.50 per cent to trade above $66 per barrel at 9.45 pm on Thursday. The renewed threat of disruption to Russian supplies galvanises a global oil market that has been bracing itself for a dramatic supply glut.
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