India replaces Russian oil with Middle East imports — Reuters
Illustrative photo: Indian refineries switch to Middle Eastern oil (Getty Images)
In India, oil refineries are changing their oil procurement strategy. They want to abandon Russian oil and increase purchases from the Middle East and the US, according to Reuters.
Revising its oil import strategy could potentially help India finally reach a trade agreement with the US on lowering tariffs. India became the main buyer of oil from Russia after 2022, but this provoked an extremely negative reaction from civilized countries, which imposed sanctions on Russia.
The agency's sources reported that the reduction in oil purchases from Russia began after the Indian government discussed accelerating the conclusion of an agreement with the US at a meeting.
After that, according to the oil planning and analysis department of the Ministry of Petroleum, the state-owned oil refinery Bharat Petroleum Corp opened tenders for the purchase of oil from Iraq and Oman. The option of buying oil from the UAE is also being considered. Starting in April 2026, Trafigura will supply India with oil from Oman and Iraq at prices slightly below market rates.
The state-owned company Hindustan Petroleum, the Mangalore refinery and petrochemical complex, as well as the private refining companies HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd., have refused to purchase oil from Russia.
Total oil imports from Russia to India fell to their lowest level in two years in December. Imports of oil from the US, South America, and Africa, on the contrary, have risen sharply.
India is looking for a replacement
Earlier, India's state-owned oil refining company, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., explored the possibility of purchasing Venezuelan oil. This is being done as part of the move away from Russian oil due to Western sanctions and US tariffs.
Since December, there has been a trend toward India gradually reducing its purchases of Russian crude oil and seeking alternative markets. Due to numerous refusals by Indian refineries, tankers carrying Russian oil are accumulating en masse at sea.
In December 2025, Russia faced a massive drop in crude oil production, the largest in the last 18 months. This was caused by Western sanctions and Ukrainian strikes on oil refining infrastructure.
