India's Public Refiners Pause Russian Oil Imports: Sources

• Indian state refiners paused Russian oil buys due to reduced discounts and U.S. tariff threats
• They are now sourcing crude from Middle Eastern and West African markets
• State firms, controlling 60% of refining, haven’t ordered Russian oil recently

According to industry sources, Indian state refiners are not currently purchasing Russian oil due to diminishing discounts, along with recent comments by President Donald Trump.

As the world's third-largest oil importer, India has served as a key buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil; however, state-owned refiners (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd.) have not issued any fresh Russian oil orders lately.

These refiners typically buy crude oil delivered, and as the price differential is narrowing, they are now purchasing other crude oil available in spot markets. Most of the crude oil is coming from Middle Eastern suppliers along with the continued shipments of West African crudes, according to the source.

Also Read: Trump Imposes 25% Tariff on India, Penalizes Russia Deals

These refiners tend to purchase Russian crude on a delivered basis, but given the narrowing price differential, they have now begun to source alternative barrels from the spot markets. Most of the replacements are coming from Middle East sources like Abu Dhabi's Murban and West African grades, the sources said.

Despite the fact that these refiners have started to purchase alternative barrels, the private players Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy remain India’s largest purchasers of Russian oil. The four state refiners combined still account for over 60% of India’s 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) refining capacity.

This action follows a warning from Trump that he would impose 100% tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil unless Moscow agrees to a meaningful peace in Ukraine.