A man paints the logo of oil refiner Bharat Petroleum on a wall on the outskirts of Kochi, India
Indian refiners face sourcing dilemma
With new capacity, buyers must navigate sanctioned Russian crude, a return to traditional OPEC barrels and diversity of supply
India, the world’s third-largest importer of crude, shows no sign of waning appetite, with refining capacity expected to expand in 2025. Russia and OPEC’s Middle East grades have been top of the menu, and that may well continue up to a point. But sanctions, geopolitical shifts and crude quality mean it may no longer be a simple straight shoot out even if OPEC producers now have the upper hand. India imported 4.84m b/d of crude oil in 2024, registering growth of 4.3% from 2023. On a regional basis, OPEC was the largest supplier to India. The region accounted for 51.5% of total exports in 2024, as compared with 49.6% in 2023. However, on individual country basis, Russia was the largest crude o
Also in this section
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
