India’s Russian Crude Imports Hit 5-Month High in November: Report

New Delhi: India's imports of Russian crude oil rose five-month high of euro 2.6 billion to 4 per cent in November, with a large part of the refined fuels produced from it being exported to Australia, a European think tank said on Friday.

According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in November behind China. “It had spent Euro 2.5 billion on buying Russian oil in October,” the CREA said.

China bought 47 per cent of Russia's crude exports in November, followed by India (38 per cent), Turkiye (6 per cent), and the EU (6 per cent). “India's Russian crude imports recorded a 4 per cent month-on-month increase to the highest volumes in five months, even as overall import volumes remained stable,” CREA said.

“In fact, India's purchases may well record another increase in December, as cargoes loaded before the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions kicked in are delivered through the month,” it said.

Russia supplied about 35 per cent of all crude oil that India imported in November. That and other crude oils are refined into fuels like petrol and diesel. These fuels are consumed domestically within India as well as exported.

“In November, six refineries in India and Turkiye exported EUR 807 million of refined oil products partially made from Russian crude to the EU (EUR 465 million), USA (EUR 110 million), UK (EUR 51 million), Australia (EUR 150 million), and Canada (EUR 31 million),” CREA said.

An estimated Euro 301 million of these products were refined from Russian crude. “An estimated EUR 297 million of oil products exported by these refineries remain without a specified destination,” it said.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. On October 22, the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of the largest oil producers in Russia, to cut off the Kremlin's resources for funding the Ukraine war.

The sanctions have resulted in companies like Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd halting imports for now. However, other refiners like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) continue to buy from non-sanctioned Russian entities.

“While private refiners' imports suffered a marginal reduction, state-owned refineries increased their Russian crude volumes by 22 per cent month-on-month in November,” CREA said.