Indian state refinery denies halting Russian oil imports

The company has said it will continue to source crude oil from non-sanctioned suppliers under the price cap mechanism

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a state-owned oil and gas company, will continue to buy Russian crude as long as it does not violate US sanctions, a company official has said in an analysts’ call, according to media outlet Mint. 

Anuj Jain, the director of finance at IOC, was also cited as saying the company maintains a database of sanctioned entities and will continue to source oil from non-sanctioned suppliers under the price cap mechanism. 

“We are absolutely not going to discontinue (buying Russian crude) as long as we are complying with the sanctions. Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines which have got sanctions,” Jain said in the call.

Since 2022, New Delhi has significantly ramped up oil imports from Russia. In September, 34% of India’s oil imports came from the country, according to Kpler data. On average, about 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian oil reaches India, according to analysts. 

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Mint highlighted that approximately 55% of India’s total oil imports from Russia originate from Rosneft and Lukoil, which were targeted by the new US sanctions announced by Washington last week.

Earlier this year, Trump announced a 25% punitive tariff on India as a penalty for bringing in Russian oil, accusing India and China of fueling the Ukraine conflict by buying the crude. The levies were in addition to 25% tariffs imposed on India after New Delhi and Washington could not reach a trade deal in August.

US President Donald Trump has claimed several times that India will reduce its oil imports from Russia, based on a conversation he had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi, however, has denied such assurances were made. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal emphasized India’s “consistent priority” is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers “in a volatile energy scenario,” adding that this objective guides the country’s import policies.