Fearing Donald Trump’s duties, but also because of Russian policy not to make any other prices, Indian state oil refining companies stopped buying Russian crude oil since last week. This revelation is made by Reuters, citing sources with knowledge of the subject and the decisions of the companies in the industry.
India is the third largest oil importer in the world and is the largest buyer of Russian crude oil transported by sea. This market is a critical source of revenue for Russia and funding its war with Ukraine, so that, if it continues for a long time, it will have a significant impact on Moscow’s ability to continue its campaign against Kiev.
State -of -the -art companies are turning to the Middle East
According to Reuters, four state -owned companies in the country – Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd – have not made a request for Russian slow oil in the last week.
The four refining companies buy Russian oil with orders usually made by delivery. According to the report, they have turned to the spot markets to replace their supplies, mainly with oil from the Middle East and Abu Dhabi, as well as oil from West Africa.
Private… Russian continue to buy Russian oil
Private Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, whose majority of shares belong to Russian companies, including Oil Rosneft, have annual agreements with Moscow and are the largest Russian oil buyers.
On July 14, Trump threatened with 100% duty on countries buying Russian oil, unless Moscow reaches a major peace agreement with Ukraine.
Indian refining companies are removed from Russian crude oil, as discounts have been reduced to the lowest level since 2022, when west western sanctions on Moscow were first imposed due to the reduction of Russian exports and stable demand, according to sources.
Trump’s fear
Reflection companies are afraid that the latest restrictions imposed by the EU could have an impact on trade overall, including raising capital, even for buyers who maintain the prices. India has made it clear its opposition to “unilateral sanctions”.
Trump announced on Wednesday the imposition of a 25% duty on products imported from India from August 1st, but added that negotiations were continuing. He also warned of possible additional sanctions on the purchase of Russian weapons and oil.
On Monday, Trump reduced the deadline for imposing secondary penalties on buyers of Russian exports to 10-12 days from the previous 50-day period, if Moscow does not agree on a peace agreement with Ukraine.
Russia is the main supplier of India, responsible for about 35% of India’s total supplies.
Private refining companies bought almost 60% of the 1.8 million Russian oil barrels introduced by India in the first half of 2025, while state refinery companies control over 60% of India’s total refinery capacity of 5%.
