No dip in crude imports from Russia in August
This is despite an overall contraction in import volumes in August
By Samreen Wani
Sep 09, 2025, 17:32 IST2 min
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Over a third of India’s energy imports continue to be driven by Russia, a trend which has largely remained stable through this year even as India grapples with the levy of an ‘additional’ tariff from the US, penalising it for this trade.
This, despite an overall decline in import volumes in August. Analysis of recent figures from financial data firm LSEG shows that a 11 percent dip in imports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting (OPEC) countries, USA and Qatar has resulted in the overall drop in crude imports into India in August.
While India’s total crude oil imports experienced a minor contraction, from over 19,500 kilotonnes in July to 19,172.5 kilotonnes the next month, Russian crude imports increased by 11 percent in the same period.
In August, Russian crude accounted for 36.6 percent of India’s total imports. While this is slightly lower than the year’s high of 39.9 percent in June, it still indicates a sustained flow of Russian crude into India driven by its low prices in the global market.
The Trump administration levied an additional 25 percent tariff on India in August penalising it for importing Russian crude, alleging it further fuels the war in Ukraine. Forbes India had reported earlier that the US imports three times more from Russia than it does from Ukraine. And despite India’s reliance on Russian crude, it imported goods worth over $1 billion from Ukraine in 2024, way more than the $500 million that the US did in the same year. For its part, there has been no indication from New Delhi that it will decrease or stop Russian energy imports.
This cheap Russian crude has changed the supply side dynamics and challenged the traditional dominance of OPEC countries in India’s crude oil imports.
In August, the share from OPEC stood at 49.6 percent, a notable decrease from its peak of 55.1 percent in February.
On Sunday, the OPEC+ grouping, a larger group of other oil producing countries, agreed to increase production of crude oil—reversing its earlier strategy of production cuts which was set to remain in place until the end of 2026—in a market already saturated with crude supply.
Beyond the major players, the USA accounted for 5.7 percent of India’s total crude imports in August down from 8 percent in the previous month, maintaining a relatively smaller presence in the market. Qatar’s share was down to less than 2 percent from about 4 percent in July.
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