India's Russian Oil Imports Surge in March, Reach €5.3 Billion

India's Crude Oil Purchases from Russia Surge in March

India's crude oil purchases from Russia more than tripled to €5.3 billion in March as volumes doubled and a surge in oil prices pushed up the import bill. This significant increase comes after a drop in purchases in February, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

India was the second-highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026, importing a total of €5.8 billion of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil products constituted 91% of India's purchases, totaling €5.3 billion. Coal and oil products made up the remainder of their monthly imports, worth €337 million and €178.5 million, respectively.

In February, India was the third-largest importer, purchasing Russian hydrocarbons worth €1.8 billion. Crude oil made up the largest share at 81% (€1.4 billion), followed by coal (€223 million) and oil products (€121 million).

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

While India's total crude imports recorded a 4% reduction in March, Russian imports doubled. The spurt in volumes followed the United States granting a one-month sanctions waiver on Russian oil, covering cargoes already at sea and shipments on previously sanctioned vessels.

The waiver led to state refiners resuming imports from Moscow, with state-owned refineries seeing a massive 148% month-on-month increase in imports from Russia. Their imports were 72% higher than March 2025, presumably due to Russian barrels being more available in the spot market.

Private refineries, however, registered a more modest 66% month-on-month increase but remained lower than the same time last year. In March, China bought 51% of Russia's crude exports, followed by India (38%), Turkiye (6%), and the European Union (1.8%).

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline

Despite the EU's ban on imports of oil products made from Russian crude, 14 shipments of oil products from refineries using Russian crude unloaded at EU ports in March. Nine of these shipments departed from Turkiye's refineries, four from India, and one from Georgia.

Refineries in India, Turkiye, Brunei, and Georgia that use Russian crude exported €830 million of oil products to sanctioning countries in March 2026. The importers included the EU (€304 million), Australia (€332 million), and the US (€168 million). An estimated €188 million of these products were refined from Russian crude.

The US' imports came from the Jamnagar refinery in India and the STAR refinery in Turkiye, owned by SOCAR. In March, as much as 39% of the STAR refinery and 25% of Jamnagar refineries' feedstock came from Russia.