Indian Refineries Boost Fuel Exports to Western Nations Despite Using Russian Crude

Refineries in India, Turkiye, and Brunei that run on Russian crude shipped 1 billion euros, or $1.2 billion, worth of oil products to sanctioning countries in September, which marks a 43% increase from August according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Export Breakdown

Reliance Industries Limited's Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat supplied six of the seven cargoes unloaded at European Union ports that month, despite a bloc ban on fuel made from Russian crude. The European Union took 667 million euros of products from these three countries, while Australia took 168 million euros, the United States 154 million euros, and New Zealand 19 million euros. Jamnagar also sent the group's largest United States-bound exports worth 122 million euros, with Russian crude making up 32% of its imports from July to September. Italy received three of the seven European Union shipments, Romania two, and Spain and Cyprus one each.

Import Trends

India's Russian crude imports fell 13% in September for their second straight monthly decline, reaching the lowest level since April. Intake dropped at India's three largest importing refineries, with Jamnagar falling 27%, Indian Oil Corporation's Paradip dropping 21%, and Nayara Energy's Vadinar slipping 8%. Vadinar still overtook Jamnagar to become India's largest importer of Russian crude. India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels globally in September by spending 4.1 billion euros on Russian hydrocarbons, behind only China.

Context

India increased its purchase of discounted Russian crude after Western buyers pulled back following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While advocacy groups urge the European Union to close regulatory loopholes by banning products from any plant that processes Russian crude, analysts note that declining import volumes also stem from tighter global supply and strong Chinese competition.