India’s Russian oil imports between April and September fell 8.4 per cent on year due to narrower discounts and tighter supplies, with refiners seeking more oil from the Middle East and the United States, according to trade sources and shipping data.
The nation is also under pressure from Washington, which has doubled tariffs on Indian goods, to reduce Russian oil imports. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro had said India’s purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
A refiner in India shipped in 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil in the first half of this fiscal year that began on April 1, shipping data obtained from trade sources show.
September’s volume was flat versus August at 1.6 million bpd, down 14.2 per cent from the same month a year ago, the data showed.
Private refiner Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy boosted imports in September while state refiners’ purchases fell.
US trade negotiators have said curbing purchases of Russian oil is crucial to reducing India’s tariff rate and sealing a trade deal.
Meanwhile, India’s US crude imports in April-September rose 6.8 per cent on year to about 213,000 bpd.
India’s higher purchase of US energy products is linked to the outcome of trade negotiations between the two countries, a government source said last week.
US trade secretary Scott Bessent had said India would rebalance its crude purchases by buying more US oil and less Russian oil.
Overall, India shipped in about 4.88 million bpd of oil in September, down by 1 per cent from August, but up about 3.5 per cent from the same month a year ago, the data showed.
During the April-September period, Russia’s share in India’s overall imports declined to about 36 per cent from 40 per cent, while that of the US rose marginally.
The share of Middle Eastern oil in six months to September 2025 in overall imports rose to 45 per cent from 42 per cent, lifting the share of the OPEC nations to 49 per cent from 45 per cent, the data showed.
