India’s Russian oil imports rose in October despite growing pressure from the United States to reduce purchases from Moscow. Preliminary ship-tracking data showed a month-on-month increase, reflecting India’s continued reliance on discounted Russian crude.
According to Kpler, Russian oil imports reached about 1.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, compared to 1.44 million bpd in September. Similarly, OilX data placed October imports at 1.48 million bpd, noting that September’s figure was around 1.43 million bpd. These figures exclude crude from Kazakhstan exported via Russia.
However, analysts predict that India’s Russian oil imports may begin to slow from November after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on two major Russian producers last month. The sanctions targeted Lukoil and Rosneft, and companies have until November 21 to end transactions with them.
Following the sanctions, Indian refiners such as Reliance Industries, Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals, and HPCL-Mittal Energy have paused purchases of Russian crude. Some companies are now exploring alternatives in the spot market, including oil from non-sanctioned Russian producers.
“Imports will not fall until November 21, but definitely after that,” said Kpler analyst Sumit Ritolia. He added that higher volumes are still expected in the first three weeks of November.
In response to the sanctions, Reliance has purchased several million barrels from the spot market, while Mangalore Refineries has secured 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban crude from Glencore for December delivery. Indian Oil has also invited bids for 24 million barrels of oil from the Americas for the first quarter of 2026.
Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has become the largest buyer of seaborne Russian crude. In the first nine months of 2025, it imported 1.9 million bpd, accounting for around 40% of Russia’s total exports, according to the International Energy Agency.
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