Shanghai-based Chinese online news site Guancha recently reported that the U.S. government just announced sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies—Lukoil and Rosneft. Numerous reports indicated that Indian refiners are preparing to drastically reduce their imports of Russian oil to “near zero” in order to comply with new U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Several Indian refineries have indeed suspended purchases of Russian crude oil, including state-owned Mangalore Refining & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited, and Reliance Industries, the world’s largest operator of refining complexes. Also, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), India’s largest oil refiner, cancelled seven or eight orders for Russian crude oil.
However, IOC has purchased five shipments of Russian crude oil, totaling approximately 3.5 million barrels, from a non-sanctioned Russian entity via the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline. The transaction price was roughly in line with Dubai crude oil prices, and the cargo is scheduled to arrive at a port in eastern India in December. IOC’s CFO, Anuj Jain, stated that the company will continue to purchase Russian crude oil as long as it complies with sanctions regulations. He stated explicitly that the company “will absolutely not stop” purchasing compliant Russian crude oil.
Executives of Indian refiners say that, state-owned refineries have not yet received clear instructions from the government. Unsanctioned smaller Russian producers such as Tatneft PJSC and Sakhalin Energy remain options. Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said, “We will not reach an agreement with time limits or with a gun pointed at our heads.”
Source: Guancha, October 31, 2025
https://www.guancha.cn/internation/2025_10_31_795309.shtml