India's Russian crude imports surge to record 2.8 million barrels per day

India imported a record 2.8 million barrels per day of Russian crude in July 2026, accounting for around 55.5 per cent of its total crude imports of just over 5 million bpd. This marked the second consecutive monthly record, highlighting the country's continued dependence on Russian oil despite tighter Western sanctions.

Indian buyers imported Russian crude worth 5.5 billion euros in July, according to data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Crude made up 87 per cent of India's total Russian fossil fuel purchases during the month, reported news agency PTI.

Smaller ports drive rise

The increase in imports was largely driven by higher receipts at smaller terminals rather than India's two biggest Russian-crude receiving hubs, Jamnagar and Paradip.

Imports through HMEL Mundra rose 58 per cent from June, while volumes at Indian Oil's Vadinar SMPL terminal increased 35 per cent. Mumbai also recorded a 37 per cent rise. Shipments through Jamnagar remained unchanged, while Paradip saw a 22 per cent decline.

The higher volumes at smaller terminals more than offset the fall at Paradip, pushing India's overall Russian crude intake to a new monthly high.

Russia remains key supplier

India's reliance on Russian oil has expanded sharply since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia supplied less than 100,000 bpd to India in 2021, accounting for about 2.5 per cent of its crude imports.

That figure rose to around 740,000 bpd in 2022 and nearly 1.8 million bpd in 2023, when Russia became India's largest crude supplier.

"India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in July 2026, importing a total of 6.4 billion euros worth of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil constituted 87 per cent of India’s purchases, totalling 5.5 billion euros. Coal (512 million euros) and oil products (341 million euro) constituted the remainder of their monthly Russian imports," CREA told PTI.

Russian oil still reaches Western markets

India's role extends beyond buying Russian crude. Refineries processing Russian oil continue to export refined petroleum products to countries that have sanctioned Moscow.

In July, refineries in India, Turkiye, Brunei and Georgia exported products worth 633 million euros to sanctioning countries, with 214 million euros going to the European Union, 184 million euros to Australia and 234 million euros to the US.

CREA estimated that 284 million euros of those exports were refined from Russian crude.

Urals price remains above cap

Russia's Urals crude averaged USD 60.22 a barrel in July, down 3 per cent from June, according to CREA. The price remained above the USD 44.10-a-barrel G7 and EU price cap that came into effect in February 2026.

Meanwhile, Russian oil product loadings fell 23 per cent in July to 4.7 million tonnes, their lowest level on record and less than half the 9.6 million tonnes recorded in July 2025.