Indian oil firms pause Russian orders amid Trump pressure
Indian refiners have quietly paused new purchases of Russian oil after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on Moscow’s top energy firms.
State-run Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries have begun moving away from Russian supplies, days after Donald Trump sanctioned two pillars of the Russian economy, the oil producers Lukoil and Rosneft.
Together, the firms account for about half of the Kremlin’s crude exports.
Indian Oil has issued a tender for the purchase of oil, while Reliance has increased purchases from spot markets, Reuters reported.
The European Union, the UK and the US have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia as part of America’s push to cut Moscow’s energy revenues that it uses to fund its war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump had until recently avoided imposing any new US sanctions on Russia.
Last week, he had a change of heart when Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told Marco Rubio, his American counterpart, that the Kremlin had not budged from its maximalist demand for an even bigger slice of Ukraine than its forces currently held in exchange for an end to the fighting.
On Thursday, the US imposed fresh sanctions on two Russian oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft.
In response, four Chinese state oil companies – PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil – all suspended purchases of Russian seaborne oil.
Russian oil accounted for 21 per cent of Indian Oil crude imports during April to September. With tightened restrictions, refiners are reassessing procurement plans to avoid potential repercussions from Western authorities.
Sources said Indian oil firms were exploring options to buy from non-sanctioned Russian oil producers.
“We will abide by all sanctions imposed by the international community,” said Arvinder Singh Sahney, the chairman of Indian Oil.
Reliance, the top Indian buyer of Russian oil, also said it would abide by the sanctions. “Supply contracts evolve to reflect changing market and regulatory conditions. Reliance will address these conditions while maintaining the relationships with its suppliers,” a Reliance spokesman told The Telegraph.
The pause marks the first major disruption to India’s once-booming Russian oil trade, which has supplied nearly half of its imports since the Ukraine war began. Washington has been pressing Delhi to scale back ties and a trade deal with Russia.
If cancellations prove permanent, Moscow faces a serious economic hit – a clear victory for Mr Trump’s sanctions regime, which made trade with its two largest customers harder after a proposed meeting with Vladimir Putin was cancelled.
