Russian vessel Vladimir Vinogradov unloads crude at Vadinar in the western state of Gujarat, India
India’s Russian crude buying has reached its limit
Middle East grades remain a diminished but important part of the South Asian country’s diet, especially as new refining capacity comes online
India’s love affair with Russian crude continued in 2024, with Russia having been been the largest supplier to India for three years now. The love is far from unconditional, however, it is born out of the war in Ukraine on the one side and a desire to save money by buying heavily discounted grades on the other. A closer look shows the proportion of Russian volumes as a percentage of India’s overall imports was down for the majority of months in 2024 compared with 2023, indicating that imports from other regions are increasing—albeit on a marginal basis. And the old adage about never forgetting your first love seems to apply, with some Indian refiners having started to pursue Middle Eastern s
Also in this section
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
8 January 2026
The region’s access to versatile feedstock, combined with policy support, is setting it up to meet growing demand both at home and abroad
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives
