In November 2025, India reached a record level of oil imports from the Russian Federation, the highest in five months. This achievement was made possible by active purchases from oil refining companies until November 21 — the deadline set for completing agreements with Russian oil producers in accordance with U.S. requirements. An additional incentive for increasing purchases was the new European Union regulations, which stipulate that from 2026, petroleum products for the European market must be produced exclusively from non-Russian oil.
This is reported by Finway
Expected decline in supplies in December
Despite the record volumes of purchases in November, experts predict that Russian oil imports to India may decrease to a minimum level in December, the lowest in the last three years. This is related to Indian oil refineries switching to alternative suppliers to avoid violating Western sanctions.
Restrictions and new financial schemes
At the same time, India is seeking ways to continue importing certain volumes of Russian oil by exploiting loopholes in the sanctions regime. To this end, the country has established strict criteria: agreements must not contradict the sanctions, and sellers must not be on the “blacklist.” Accordingly, financing for operations may be conducted in currencies such as UAE dirhams and Chinese yuan, allowing India to partially maintain access to Russian energy resources.
The overall trend regarding hydrocarbon exports from the Russian Federation demonstrates that sanctions against Russia are indeed working. Data from S&P Global indicates that supplies of Russian petrochemical feedstock to key Asian countries decreased by 57-80% in November this year.
In particular, exports of naphtha from Russia to India decreased by 57% — to 60,000 tons, to China by 73.3% (to 54,000 tons), and to Taiwan by 79.6% (to 37,000 tons). Indian companies are expected to completely abandon the purchase of Russian naphtha, while the Taiwanese corporation Formosa Petrochemical is also considering options to cease cooperation with Russian suppliers.
The impact of Western sanctions is further confirmed by the decrease in the number of Greek tankers transporting Russian oil: at the beginning of November, only three out of 65 shipments were transported by vessels owned by Greek shipowners — the lowest figure since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Besides India, China has also benefited significantly from purchasing Russian oil. Thanks to substantial discounts, Beijing has saved about $20 billion during the years of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Last year, Russia accounted for nearly 19% of China’s energy imports, amounting to $100 billion, and became the largest oil supplier to the country with a share of about 20%. Overall discounts for India and China, according to analysts, have cost the Russian oil sector $33 billion.