New Delhi: India’s crude oil purchases from Russia dropped over 15 per cent in April after the country’s buyer shut the refinery for routine maintenance, European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a report.
India imported Euro 4.5 billion worth of crude oil (raw material for making fuels like petrol and diesel) from Russia in April, down from Euro 5.3 billion worth of imports in the preceding month.
CREA said India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in April 2026, importing a total of Euro 5 billion of Russian hydrocarbons.
Nayara’s imports of Russian oil, too, declined to 25,000 bpd in April from 315,000 bpd due to a 35-day maintenance shutdown that started April 9.
Despite the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy route, West Asian oil flows into India improved in April. Saudi Arabia shipped 704,000 barrels a day, up 23 percent from March. Imports from the United Arab Emirates surged 191 percent to 591,000 barrels per day.
The oil was routed through Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu and UAE’s Fujairah pipelines, which bypass Homuz and have emerged as the critical routes for global energy imports.
Amid the West Asia war, India has diversified its sourcing by increasing imports from Venezuela, Iran, Brazil, and Nigeria.
After a seven-year gap, India resumed purchases from Iran in April, importing 137,000 barrels per day after the US announced a 30-day waiver on sanctions that allowed countries to buy Iranian oil.
India has been a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing significant volumes of light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.
After the US tightened sanctions in 2018, imports ceased from May 2019, with volumes replaced by West Asian, US, and other grades.
Oil imports from Venezuela stood at 298,000 barrels a day during the month, after a nearly one-year gap.
Following the Iran war that led to the blockade of Hormuz, India’s crude imports decreased to 4.3 million barrels per day in April, down from 4.4 million barrels the previous month, Kpler data shows.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea, used to carry about 20 percent of global oil shipments before the war, making it one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.
For India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, nearly 40-50 percent of crude imports used to pass through the narrow strait.
