The Deendayal Port handles most of the Russian oil among all the 13 major ports in India.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
The after effects of secondary sanctions on Russian oil movement are being felt at Deendayal Port in Kandla, Gujarat, (earlier called Kandla port) too.
The first half of this fiscal year witnessed a 6 per cent decline in handling of crude products, LPG/LNG, versus the same period last year, according to Indian Ports Association data. One of the major reasons attributed to this is the decline in handling of Russian oil by the port.
During April to September 2025, the Deendayal Port handled 30.07 lakh tonnes of crude products, LPG/LNG as against 32.50 lakh tonnes in the same period last year. The port handles most of the Russian oil among all the 13 major ports in India. Though there is no direct sanction on Russian oil purchase, there is an impact on the movement of oil due to restrictions imposed by Washington and the European Union on countries that buy crude oil from Moscow.
When asked if there has been a decline in crude imports through the port due to geopolitical tensions between Russia and the US, Sushil Kumar Singh, Chairman, Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), told businessline, “In September, we saw a four per cent decline in the amount of crude that is imported through our port. This dip is about 1.2 million tonnes.”
Deals impacted
Crude imported through the port is transported through pipelines to five oil refineries, including Nayara, co-owned by PJSC NK Rosneft — Russian State-owned oil company, and Kesani Enterprises Company Limited — an investment consortium formed by Mareterra Group (through its subsidiary Hara Capital Sarl) and the Russian investment group UCP – and a couple of refineries belonging to the Indian Oil Corporation.
Besides, Nayara had signed a deal to import crude oil from Russia’s Rosneft for 10 years. Rosneft is to supply up to 500,000 barrels per day (25 million tonnes a year) of crude oil to Reliance. Till September, Reliance has contracted for shipments, but for next months, it is slowing down.
However, a larger impact seems to be the Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants (POL) being exported from the port including those from Nayara. To partly tide over the crisis, the Port Authority along with DG Shipping and Nayara are trying to use the coastal cargo route to domestically consume a portion of the POL products that were meant to be exported, said Singh.
“Till now, the refinery is operating at a healthy run rate with steady crude throughput. This also ensures that Nayara can maintain continuity of production supplies across its 6,700 plus fuel stations and oil marketing company commitments,” those associated with the refinery said.
Mounting pressure
However, with mounting American pressure on India to cut down its dependence on Russian oil, Nayara is also toying with the idea of using crude from various geographies efficiently. Currently, Nayara is getting its crude supplies mostly through Russian owned fleets that are all insured in Russia.
Moreover, the overall crude imports were low because of maintenance in Indian oil Vadinar refinery as part of its revamp, according to Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining & Modeling, Kpler, a Global real-time data and analytics provider.
Kpler data shows no sign of a slowdown.
India is likely to continue importing 1.6–1.8 mb/d of Russian crude in the near term, with symbolic reductions possible if Washington intensifies pressure. Russian barrels will remain the core of India’s crude mix, while incremental volumes from other regions will serve as diversification buffers—not replacements.
Published on October 19, 2025