India, the second largest buyer of Russian crude oil, spent up to 2.5 billion euros on purchasing crude oil from Russia in October before new sanctions were imposed on Russian units. India’s expenditure on purchase of Russian oil in October remained at 2.5 billion euros, the same as in September. According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India remained the second largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels after China in October.
On October 22, the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil producing companies, to reduce the Kremlin’s resources for financing the Ukraine war. After these sanctions, companies like Reliance Industries, HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited have currently stopped the import of Russian oil. Russia shipped 60 million barrels of crude oil in October, of which Rosneft and Lukoil together contributed 45 million barrels.
India is a big buyer of Russian oil
CREA said in its monthly monitoring report that India remained the second largest buyer of Russian fuel, importing a total of 3.1 billion euros. Crude oil accounted for 81 percent (2.5 billion euros) of India’s total purchases, followed by coal at 11 percent (351 million euros) and oil products at seven percent (222 million euros). India, traditionally dependent on Middle East oil, significantly increased its imports from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian oil became available at huge discounts due to Western sanctions and reduced European demand. As a result, India’s imports of Russian crude oil increased from one percent of its total crude oil imports to almost 40 percent in a short period of time. In September, India spent a total of 3.6 billion euros. This includes 2.5 billion euros on crude oil, 452 million euros on coal and 344 million euros on oil products.
11 percent increase
According to CREA, India’s Russian crude oil imports registered an increase of 11 percent on month-on-month basis in October. While imports from private refineries accounted for more than two-thirds of India’s total imports, state-owned refineries almost doubled the volume of their Russian imports in October on a month-on-month basis. In a notable development, the Rosneft-owned Vadinar refinery (in Gujarat) – now banned by the EU and Britain – increased its output by 90 per cent in October, it said.
Following EU sanctions in July, the refinery is importing crude oil only from Russia. In October, their imports from Russia recorded a 32 percent month-on-month increase, their highest volume since the full-scale invasion. Refinery exports have declined significantly (47 percent compared to the same month last year) to their lowest level since May 2023,
The ban on companies made a difference
CREA said imports from the embargoed countries from six Indian and Turkish refineries that use Russian crude oil declined by eight per cent on a monthly basis in October, but the decline was mainly due to the EU and Britain, which recorded a decline of 9 per cent and 73 per cent respectively on a monthly basis. In contrast, Australia’s imports in October increased by 140 percent to 93 million euros and America’s imports also increased by 17 percent to 126.6 million euros. These two countries have not yet announced a ban on oil products made from Russian crude oil.