India officials say Russia oil imports to drop on tighter checks

Indian officers mentioned they count on oil imports from Russia will drop to 800,000 barrels a day this month, after they tightened checks to make sure compliance with Western curbs. 

Elevated scrutiny at ports and from banks has been rolled out in current weeks, the officers mentioned, asking to not be named discussing delicate data. India took round 1.9 million barrels a day of Russian oil in November, they mentioned. Knowledge agency Kpler mentioned final week that shipments might be about 1.3 million barrels a day this month.

The stricter checks come as New Delhi tries to clinch a broader commerce cope with the US, which slapped 50% tariffs on all Indian items in August, partly as punishment for the nation’s shopping for of Russian oil. Crude that’s not topic to restrictions continues to circulation, whereas merchants and refiners are in search of workarounds for the sanctioned barrels that the Indian authorities have been clamping down on.

India’s international and oil ministries didn’t instantly reply to Bloomberg requests for feedback.

The oil market is targeted on the destiny of Russian exports after Washington imposed sanctions on Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC in October in a bid to curb the Kremlin’s funds for the battle in Ukraine. That’s left Indian refiners to faucet exports from non-sanctioned Russian entities, in addition to looking for costlier options from rival producers at a time of ample international provide.

4 out of India’s seven largest refiners remained out there for non-sanctioned Russian crude as deep reductions push consumers to hunt barrels, folks concerned within the purchases mentioned final week. They included Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp., which didn’t reply to requests for remark on the time.

Port checks on so-called shadow-fleet tankers have been stepped up, whereas banks have elevated scrutiny of funds, the Indian officers mentioned this week. As a part of the newest strikes, the transport ministry ramped up inspections to limit so-called shadow-fleet tankers by looking for certificates of origin, flag-registry information, and different documentation, they mentioned. 

All Indian refiners besides Rosneft-backed Nayara Vitality Ltd. have minimize imports from Russia, the officers mentioned. Nayara elevated volumes as European Union sanctions have made it reliant on Moscow for feedstock, they mentioned.

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Printed on December 16, 2025