A European research group claims that India bought $2.9 billion worth of crude oil from Moscow in October, prior to the most recent sanctions placed on Russian companies.
According to the report, which cited the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India remained the second-largest consumer of Russian fossil fuels in October, after China.
US sanctions against Russian companies
With the US imposing sanctions on two of Russia's biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, this month in an effort to reduce the Kremlin's resources to finance the war in Ukraine, India's purchases of Russian oil are under scrutiny. Furthermore, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that India has reduced its oil purchases from Russia as a result of US tariffs.According to PTI, these penalties have caused businesses including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd., and Reliance Industries to temporarily cease imports.
Rosneft and Lukoil together accounted for 45 million of Russia's 60 million barrels of crude oil exports in October.
"With a total import of EUR 3.1 billion, India continued to be the second-largest consumer of Russian fossil fuels. According to CREA's October monthly report, crude oil accounted for 81% (EUR 2.5 billion) of India's purchases, followed by coal at 11% (EUR 351 million) and oil products at 7% (EUR 222 million).

India's increasing purchases of Russian oil
Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India, which has historically relied on Middle Eastern oil, significantly increased its imports from Russia, according to PTI.
Because of Western sanctions and a decline in European demand, Russian oil was sold at substantial discounts. As a result, in a short amount of time, Russia's share of India's total crude oil imports increased from less than 1% to about 40%.
India spent around $4.18 billion (3.6 billion euros) in September, of which $2.9 billion (2.5 billion euros) was spent on crude oil, $525 million (452 million euros) on coal, and $400 million (344 million euros) on oil products.

India's imports of Russian oil rose by 11% in October over the previous month, according to CREA. State-owned refineries almost increased their Russian crude shipments from the previous month, despite private refiners accounting for more than two-thirds of India's overall imports.
"The Rosneft-owned Vadinar refinery (in Gujarat), which is currently approved by the UK and the EU, made a bold move by raising its output to 90% in October. The refinery has only been importing crude from Russia since the EU imposed sanctions in July. Their imports from Russia reached their greatest levels since the full-scale invasion in October, with a 32% month-over-month surge, according to CREA.

According to the data, the refinery's exports have drastically dropped by 47% from the same month last year, hitting their lowest levels since May 2023.
"While there was an 8 per cent month-on-month reduction in sanctioning countries' imports from the six Indian and Turkish refineries using Russian crude in October, the decrease was led chiefly by the EU and UK, which recorded monthly reductions 9 per cent and 73 per cent," stated the CREA.
In an effort to hurt Russia's economy, the United States, the European Union, and other Western countries imposed a number of sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's ability to supply oil to European markets was significantly impacted by one of the main sanctions.As a result, Russia began offering crude oil at steep discounts in an effort to draw in new customers. India increased its purchases due to its large energy needs and an economy that is vulnerable to changes in oil prices.
India was able to purchase oil at a lower cost thanks to the Russian oil discount, which has occasionally been as high as $18–20 per barrel below the market price of other fuels.