India’s top refiner shifts gears, buys millions of barrels from US and UAE

India’s largest state-run refiner has purchased millions of barrels of crude from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, as New Delhi faces intensifying pressure from Washington and Brussels over its continued oil trade with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to traders familiar with the transactions, quoted by Bloomberg, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has bought at least 5 million barrels of US crude in recent days, along with an additional 2 million barrels from Abu Dhabi.

The purchases were described as unusually large and with relatively prompt delivery windows, signalling an urgent need to diversify away from Russian supplies. The traders requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.

Earlier this week, Indian state-owned refiners were reportedly instructed to devise procurement plans for sourcing non-Russian crude, a shift that comes amid growing international scrutiny of India’s energy ties with Moscow.

India’s refining sector has come under sharp focus in recent weeks, after being criticised by both the European Union and the United States for what they describe as indirect support for Russia's war effort. Former US President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to office, has issued repeated warnings that buyers of Russian oil could face secondary sanctions. In a post earlier this week, Trump specifically called out India, threatening additional economic penalties over its continued purchases of Russian crude.

In response to shifting geopolitical risks, IOC has aggressively sought alternative supplies. This week alone, the company issued several back-to-back tenders for crude oil—an unusual move, traders noted, that suggests a sense of urgency. In addition to the US and UAE cargoes, IOC also acquired 4 million barrels of West African crude earlier in the week, including Abu Dhabi’s Murban grade, all scheduled for delivery within a similar time frame.

India has emerged as the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude exports, capitalising on steep discounts since the start of the war in Ukraine. Russian crude, primarily the Urals grade, now makes up roughly one-third of India’s total oil imports, up from nearly zero before the war. This surge has come at the expense of more traditional suppliers from the Middle East and Africa.

By Tamilla Hasanova