India falls to 3rd place in Russian crude oil imports

India slashed imports of Russian crude oil in December 2025, driven by a steep cut at Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery and reduced buying by state-owned refiners. Volumes hit their lowest level since the G7 price cap regime began, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) on Tuesday.

The European energy think tank said Indian purchases of Russian crude fell 29 per cent month-on-month, even as overall crude oil imports rose marginally. India imported Russian hydrocarbons worth €2.3 billion in December, down sharply from €3.3 billion in November, with crude oil driving most of the decline. CREA data showed crude accounted for 78 per cent of imports, valued at €1.8 billion; coal at €424 million; and oil products at €82 million.

The drop stemmed mainly from Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery, which halved its Russian crude intake. State-run refiners cut purchases by about 15 per cent, reflecting caution after recent US sanctions on major Russian oil producers.

CREA noted Reliance’s December cargoes came entirely from Rosneft, secured before the latest US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions. The US targeted Rosneft and Lukoil to curb Moscow’s revenues amid the Ukraine war.

India thus slipped to third-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, behind China and Turkey.