Indian oil refiners—the world’s top buyers of Russian crude—may be starting to diversify their imports away from Moscow following a new round of European Union sanctions targeting Russia’s oil trade, Bloomberg reported on July 28.
While the shift isn’t yet widespread, several Indian processors are quietly exploring alternative suppliers, according to traders and refinery officials who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity. They noted it’s too early to say there has been a major pullback from Russian supplies, but the direction is becoming clearer.
The EU’s latest sanctions package introduced a series of measures aimed at tightening restrictions on Moscow’s energy revenue, including targeting a Russian-linked Indian refiner, lowering the price cap on Russian oil, and banning imports of petroleum products made from Russian crude.
According to Bloomberg, these steps are reverberating across the global oil market, which is also digesting OPEC+ efforts to revive idled production and escalating trade tensions led by the US.
In response, Indian refiners are expanding their sourcing footprint. Recent purchases include crude from Azerbaijan, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates—countries that are not typically primary suppliers for India.
For instance, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd., a state-backed firm, secured about 1.3 million barrels of Azeri oil for delivery in late August to September, with traders calling the order “prompter-than-usual” and noting it deviated from the refinery’s typical buying habits.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. acquired Nigerian grades such as Bonny Light, Egina, and Qua Iboe, according to the report. Private-sector giant Reliance Industries Ltd. also stepped outside its usual slate of heavy Russian and Middle Eastern crude by purchasing Murban—a premium light crude from Abu Dhabi.
Though Russia remains a central player in India’s energy mix, the latest moves suggest that refiners are hedging their bets amid increasing geopolitical risk and mounting pressure from Western sanctions, Bloomberg concludes.
Previously, US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports starting August 1, citing India’s military and energy ties with Russia and its restrictive trade practices.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said that although “India is our friend,” the country has historically maintained “far too high” tariffs and “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country.”
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