Russian Oil Supplies To India Collapse To 4-year Low

Russian oil has been displaced by Venezuelan oil.

India has sharply reduced oil imports from Russia: in January, supplies fell by 40% compared to December and more than doubled in annual terms, according to a review of the international pricing agency Argus, which was read by RBC. Volumes collapsed to their lowest since June 2022 at 859,000 bpd (3.68 million tons). India's commerce ministry reported a 5% reduction in purchases in 2025, to 84.86 million tons. In December 2025, Russian oil imports fell 4% year-on-year and 25% from November, to 5.78 million tons.

The key reason was increased pressure from the US and New Delhi's desire to strike a favorable trade deal with Washington. In January, the share of Russian oil in India's imports fell to 21.2 percent, Reuters reported. That's the lowest since October 2022, when the republic only began ramping up purchases from Russian Federation amid the war in Ukraine. India is making up for lost volumes from the Middle East and has already increased its share of its imports to 55%. Its main supplier has been Saudi Arabia. According to Kpler, volumes from the kingdom could reach 1-1.1 million bpd in February, the highest since November 2019. India has also resumed purchases of Venezuelan crude, ordering at least 6 million barrels with delivery in April, according to Argus.

Including 1 million barrels each of the Merey grade purchased by BPCL and HMEL through trader Vitol. The price of Venezuelan crude was about $15 a barrel below Brent, making it attractive to Indian refineries, many of which are technologically tailored to heavy grades.

From February 7, US President Donald Trump slapped 25 percent duties on Indian goods, saying New Delhi had "committed to cease direct or indirect" oil imports from Russia. Indian authorities have not formally announced a complete phase-out of such purchases. At the same time, Trump warned that U.S. authorities would monitor the situation and could bring back tariffs if supplies resume.

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, India became the largest buyer of Russian oil, which began to be sold at significant discounts due to Western sanctions. Supplies reached 2 million bpd by mid-2025 before beginning to decline under pressure from the US and EU. According to Reuters, India plans to reduce them to 500,000-600,000 bpd in the spring.

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