India’s Russian Crude Imports Plunge 29% in December Amid Refinery Cutbacks
India’s imports of Russian crude oil experienced a significant 29% month-on-month decline in December 2025, reaching the lowest volumes recorded since the introduction of the Western price cap policy, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The drop occurred even as India’s overall crude imports saw a slight increase during the month. The reduction was primarily attributed to substantial cuts by major refiners. Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery reduced its Russian crude purchases by nearly 49%, while state-owned refineries scaled back by 15%. CREA’s monthly review of Russian fossil fuel exports highlighted that the Jamnagar facility’s imports in December came entirely from Rosneft-supplied cargoes acquired prior to the implementation of sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Data from Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider, indicated that India imported 1.2 million barrels of Russian crude in December, down from 1.8 million barrels in November. For the full year 2025, India’s total Russian crude imports exceeded 20.4 million barrels. Early figures for January 2026 show a rebound, with over 1.1 million barrels already imported by January 13.
In value terms, India ranked as the third-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in December, slipping from second place behind Türkiye. Total purchases of Russian hydrocarbons amounted to €2.3 billion, with crude oil accounting for 78% or €1.8 billion. The remainder included coal at €424 million and oil products at €82 million. For comparison, India’s crude oil imports from Russia were valued at €2.5 billion in October and €2.6 billion in November.
CREA reported that Russia’s overall fossil fuel export revenues dipped marginally by 2% month-on-month to €500 million per day in December—the second-lowest level since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine—while export volumes also fell by 2%. Crude oil export revenues specifically declined 12% to €198 million per day.
Russia’s fossil fuel exports remain concentrated among key buyers: China led as the top purchaser, capturing 48% (€6 billion) of revenues from the five largest importers, followed by others with the EU ranking fourth at 11% (€1.3 billion). The report also noted that refineries in India, Türkiye, and Brunei processed Russian crude into oil products worth €943 million, which were exported to sanctioning countries including the EU (€436 million), the US (€189 million), the UK (€34 million), and Australia (€283 million).