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Informist, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025

 

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--Kpler: India's Nov crude oil imports at 5.0 mln bpd as of Thursday
--Kpler:Russia remains India's top crude oil supplier at 1.9 mln bpd in Nov
--Kpler: See India's crude oil imports from Russia at 5-month high in Nov
--Kpler: Iraq 2nd-largest crude oil supplier to India in Nov at 983,000 bpd
--Kpler:Saudi Arabia 3rd-largest oil supplier to India in Nov at 685,000 bpd
--Kpler:See Russia crude oil supply to India fall to around 1 mln bpd in Dec
 

 

By Ashutosh Pati

 

MUMBAI – India's crude oil imports from Russia are expected to surge to a five-month high in November, mainly due to a surge in imports ahead of the sanctions deadline that was set for Nov. 21, according to global trade analytics firm Kpler. Till Thursday, the country's total crude oil imports from Russia stood at 1.9 million barrels per day, data from Kpler showed.

 

On Oct. 23, the US had imposed sanctions on two large oil companies in Russia--Rosneft and Lukoil--to put pressure on Moscow to end the war with Ukraine. These sanctions came into effect Nov. 21.

 

Another reason for the surge in oil imports from Russia was the high domestic fuel demand and strong refinery runs during Oct-Dec, when Russian barrels remained the most economical incremental feedstock, said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst, refining and modelling at Kpler. Further, improved operations at Nayara Energy Ltd., which has been running almost exclusively on Russian grades, also led to the increase. Its utilisation has picked up since September, and they imported around 400,000 barrels per day as of Thursday, Ritolia said.

 

India's crude oil imports from Russia are expected to dip to around 1 million barrels per day in December, Ritolia said. "Looking ahead, we've started to see a clear dip in Russia's exports to India since the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions announced on 23 October," he added.

 

The country's total crude oil imports in November were at 5.0 million barrels per day as of Thursday, with Russia as the frontrunner. Iraq was the second-highest oil supplier to India during the month with 983,000 barrels per day, followed by Saudi Arabia at 685,000 barrels per day, the data showed.

 

Ritolia said they are witnessing a shift towards non-designated Russian entities, more use of opaque trading channels, and increased sourcing from West Asia, West Africa, and the Americas. "As long as broader secondary sanctions aren't applied, India is likely to continue importing Russian crude—just through more indirect and less transparent routes," Ritolia said.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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