Russian oil imports to India surge to 11-month peak in June despite US pressure

In June, India’s purchases of Russian oil reached an 11-month high, solidifying Moscow’s ongoing hegemony over New Delhi’s oil import market. Tanker data shows that in June, Russian crude made up a staggering 43.2% of India’s total oil imports, surpassing the combined imports from the next three suppliers, which were Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are important West Asian countries. This occurs at a time when a contentious US bill that would impose 500% tariffs on nations that maintain trade with Russia has raised concerns in India. The two biggest importers of Russian crude are China and India, and New Delhi is interacting with US legislators to express concerns about the bill and its energy security.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar claimed during a recent news conference in Washington that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a major bill backer, had been “made conversant” with India’s energy-related issues and interests. India will “have to cross the bridge when we come to it, if we come to it,” Jaishankar continued. Graham claimed in a recent interview with ABC News that US President Donald Trump urged him to move the bill forward following the US Congress’ July recess.

It is yet to be seen if the bill, which Graham says would equip the US to force Russia to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine, will turn into law in its current form. If that does happen, India would be pushed to cut down oil imports from Russia and increase imports from other suppliers, which could increase the cost of imports. It could also lead to complications in India’s ongoing trade pact negotiations with the US, its largest trading partner. Currently, Indian refiners are adopting a wait-and-watch approach on the matter, while keeping Russian oil flows into India robust.

India depends on imports to meet around 88 per cent of its crude oil needs, and Russia has been the mainstay of India’s oil imports for nearly three years now. With much of the West shunning Russian crude following the country’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia began offering discounts on its oil to willing buyers. Indian refiners were quick to avail of the opportunity, leading to Russia—earlier a peripheral supplier of oil to India—emerging as India’s biggest source of crude, displacing the traditional West Asian suppliers. While the discounts have varied over time, Russian oil flows to India have remained robust despite Western pressure and limited sanctions on Russia’s oil trading ecosystem. Booming oil trade with Russia has also catapulted the country to the list of India’s biggest trading partners.

On its part, India has maintained that it is willing to buy oil from whoever offers the best price, as long as the oil is not under sanctions. To be sure, Russian oil itself is not sanctioned, but the US and its allies have imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel, as per which Western shippers and insurers cannot participate in Russian oil trade if the price of Moscow’s crude is above that level.

In June, India imported 2.08 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude, the highest since July 2024, and higher by 12.2 per cent on a month-on-month basis, according to vessel tracking data from global commodity market analytics firm Kpler.