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India slips to third as major refiners tap the brakes on Russian crude
India fell to the third position among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December 2025 after Reliance Industries and state-owned refiners sharply reduced crude oil imports, a European think tank reported on Tuesday.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India’s total Russian hydrocarbon imports in December stood at €2.3 billion, down from €3.3 billion in November.
Turkiye displaced India as the second largest importer, purchasing €2.6 billion of Russian hydrocarbons in December,” CREA said. China remained the top buyer, accounting for 48 per cent (€6 billion) of Russia’s export revenues from the top five importers.
India is the third highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, importing a total of €2.3 billion of Russian hydrocarbons in December,” CREA added. Crude oil made up 78 per cent of India’s purchases, totaling €1.8 billion, while coal (€424 million) and oil products (€82 million) accounted for the remainder.
In November, India had spent €2.6 billion on Russian crude oil, which is processed in domestic refineries to produce fuels such as petrol and diesel. CREA noted, “India’s Russian crude imports recorded a sharp 29 per cent month-on-month reduction to the lowest volumes since the implementation of the price cap policy.
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