India’s state-run refiners are exploring whether they can continue sourcing discounted Russian oil by turning to smaller suppliers, after the U.S. blacklisted major energy firms Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC last week, Bloomberg reports.
Since the announcement of the latest round of sanctions, refiners including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have largely stayed out of the Urals crude market, waiting for government guidance and assessing alternative routes. Urals crude, Russia’s benchmark grade, has been a key import for India, but the blacklisted firms previously supplied more than 80% of the country’s Russian oil in 2024, according to Kpler data.
Executives at Indian refiners, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they are trying to determine how much oil can still be purchased from non-sanctioned Russian entities such as Tatneft PJSC and Sakhalin Energy, and at what cost. Reliance Industries Ltd., which relies heavily on Rosneft via term contracts, is among the private refiners expected to be hardest hit. The company has already accelerated purchases of crude from the Middle East and the U.S., following the path of its state-owned peers.
Nayara Energy Ltd., backed by Rosneft and already sanctioned by Europe and the U.K., remains a potential exception, showing no immediate signs of curbing Russian imports. In contrast, buyers in China, Russia’s top oil customer, have recently shied away from Urals purchases amid heightened risks from the new sanctions.
The Trump-era sanctions aim to restrict Russia’s oil trades without triggering a sudden global price spike, canceling earlier measures like the G7’s $60-a-barrel price cap. Indian refiners face the dual challenge of navigating these secondary sanctions while maintaining strategic energy ties with Russia and managing relations with the U.S. government.
Neither the refiners nor India’s oil ministry responded immediately to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. With government direction still pending, the country’s importers are carefully weighing the risks and logistics of continuing Russian oil purchases through smaller, non-sanctioned suppliers.
