India has begun asking its oil refiners to submit weekly disclosures of crude purchases from Russia and the United States, a move aimed at easing friction with Washington as the two countries seek to revive stalled trade talks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The step comes as officials expect Indian imports of Russian crude to fall below 1 million barrels per day in the coming months.
India emerged as the world’s largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne oil after the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022, sharply increasing purchases shunned by many Western nations. Those imports, however, have drawn criticism from the United States and its allies, who have imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy sector and argue that oil revenues help finance Moscow’s war effort.
According to five industry and government sources cited by Reuters, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, an arm of India’s oil ministry, has asked refiners to provide weekly data on crude imports from Russia and the U.S. The information, the sources said, is required by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office to ensure New Delhi can present verified figures directly to Washington rather than rely on third-party estimates.
“We want timely and accurate data on Russian and U.S. oil imports so that, when the U.S. asks for information, we can provide verified figures instead of them relying on secondary sources,” one government official told Reuters. The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the data was not expected to be made public.
The request marks a shift from past practice, as oil import origins are typically disclosed through monthly customs data or tracked by private analytics firms. Major refiners, including Reliance Industries and Indian Oil Corp, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Modi’s office and the oil ministry also declined to comment.
Russian oil has become a key sticking point in trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. The United States, seeking to narrow its trade deficit with India, doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year, citing India’s heavy purchases of Russian crude. Talks on a broader trade deal have been halting, collapsing in July over issues including market access for U.S. farm products and diplomatic disagreements, before resuming later in the year.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump said in October that Modi had pledged to stop buying Russian oil, India has publicly resisted such pressure, arguing the imports are essential for energy security. Two government officials told Reuters that refiners have not been formally instructed to cut purchases, but both officials and industry sources expect imports to average below 1 million barrels per day going forward.
Stricter U.S. and European Union sanctions have already slowed Russian oil flows to India, which fell to about 1.2 million barrels per day in December, a three-year low, according to sources and data from analytics firm Kpler. That represents a drop of roughly 40% from a peak of around 2 million barrels per day in June.
Energy purchases have been a central feature of several U.S. trade deals under Trump, and India is also looking to boost imports of American crude after increasing purchases of U.S. natural gas. Kpler data show the United States accounted for 6.6% of India’s crude imports in 2025, compared with Russia’s dominant 35%, underscoring the scale of the shift New Delhi may be seeking as it balances energy needs with trade diplomacy.
