India's largest oil companies – Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Reliance Industries – have stopped accepting offers to purchase Russian oil for delivery in March and April.
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As Reuters reports, citing industry sources, this decision is part of a broader strategy of diversifying energy sources. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India emphasized that the country's energy security is based on adapting to dynamically changing market and international conditions..
Despite the resignation from new contracts, Indian refineries have already scheduled deliveries of Russian oil for March. It is worth noting, however, that most of the remaining refineries in the country have ended purchases of raw material from Russia.
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The exception remains Nayara Energy, a private refinery supported by Russia, which largely bases its operations on Russian supplies. However, due to the planned downtime, Nayara does not expect any oil imports in April.
The US is pushing to limit imports from Russia
Although the official U.S.-India announcement on the trade framework did not mention Russian oil, President Donald Trump has waived the 25% tariff in the past. tariffs on Indian goods, while emphasizing that New Delhi has undertaken to limit imports of Russian raw materials. U.S. officials have said they will monitor the situation and may reimpose tariffs if India resumes larger purchases.
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India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, became one of the main buyers of Russian crude after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian crude was offered at reduced prices, which attracted the attention of Indian refiners.
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However, December data indicates that Russian oil imports have fallen to their lowest level in two years. According to industry sources, India plans to reduce imports of Russian raw material to the level of 500-600 thousand tonnes. barrels per day, a significant decrease compared to last year's average of 1.7 million barrels per day.
