US President Donald Trump’s decision to sanction Russia’s top crude giants Rosneft and Lukoil is expected to stop the oil flows to Indian refiners to a near zero, according to a Bloomberg report.
“Senior executives at the processors said the latest restrictions announced by Washington overnight would make it all but impossible for flows to continue,” the report stated.
Crude prices have seen a 3% jump on reports that Indian buyers may recalibrate Russian oil purchases after the US imposed sanctions.
Trump on assurance from India to lower Russian purchase
After announcing sanctions, Trump indicated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that India’s Russian oil purchases will go down by 40% by year end.
“India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop…it’s a process. You can’t just stop (buying oil from Russia). By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing; almost 40 per cent of the oil. India, they’ve been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday,” Trump told reporters at White House.
Reliance Industries’ statement to Reuters
Reliance Industries has confirmed recalibration of Russian oil imports. In a statement to Reuters the oil major stated, “Recalibration of Russian oil imports is ongoing and Reliance will be fully aligned to GOI (Government of India) guidelines on the extent of recalibration.”
Share of Russian crude in total Indian imports so far in 2025
So far this year, imports from Russia comprised about 30-35% of the total Indian crude. This is as per the latest report by analytics firm Kpler and quoted by Bloomberg. The same report by Kpler also highlighted that Indian refiners are looking to broaden their import basket to enhance energy security and flexibility.
Russian crude suppliers to India
The Bloomberg report highlighted that a sole exception could be Rosneft-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy. The company has been operating on Russian crude after EU sanctions with effect from July.
Bloomberg also stated that state-run Oil PSUs like IOCL, BPCL, HPCL and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals have not responded to their queries. They also added that representatives of Nayara Energy, which accounted for 16% of India’s oil imports from Russia this year, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
Russia- Impact of multiple sanctions
The US said it was prepared to take further action even as it called on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Separately, Britain sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil last week. Moreover, EU countries approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for the war that includes a ban on imports of Russian LNG.
As per industry observers, if India trims Russian import, Asian demand may pivot toward US crude. Reuters quoted Phillip Nova’s senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva and said, “President Trump’s fresh sanctions hitting Russia’s biggest oil houses aim squarely at choking Kremlin war revenues – a move that could tighten physical flows of Russian barrels and force buyers to re-route volumes onto the open market.”
In the near-term, the crude market is eyeing some key triggers, including unwinding by OPEC+, China’s crude stockpiling and the geo-political tension in Ukraine and West Asia.
Financialexpress.com has not been able to confirm the story independently, and this is based on reports by international news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg