Crude oil Imports from US surge over 50% in H1; Russia remains top supplier
India’s crude oil imports from the United States surged more than 50% in the first half (H1) of 2025. However, Russia retained its position as the country’s largest crude supplier.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, India imported nearly 271,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil from the US in the January-June 2025 period, a 51% increase from 180,000 b/d during the same period last year. Meanwhile, Russia remained India’s top crude supplier during H1 of 2025, with shipments averaging 1.67 million b/d - marginally up from 1.66 million b/d a year earlier.
“Crude supplies from the US have been rising but limited to a few refiners in India. This allows room for other refiners to grow US imports further during the year,” said Abhishek Ranjan, South Asia oil research lead at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
India imports about 88% of its crude oil requirements. Since early 2022, when Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy exports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, India has capitalised on discounted Russian crude, turning it into a cornerstone of its import strategy. Meanwhile, volumes of US crude had declined over the past two to three years, as Indian refiners prioritised Russian crude due to discount. India’s demand for US crude is showing signs of revival after
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in mid-February, both countries had pledged to deepen energy cooperation. Tariff dynamics are also influencing crude trade. On April 2, the US imposed reciprocal tariffs on India and several other countries, but paused the increases for 90 days starting April 10 to allow for trade negotiations.
“With a modest level of Russian imports in the early months of 2025, volumes are rising again, supported by lower crude prices that enable higher volumes to be procured below the price cap. As the global oversupply is expected to continue putting pressure on prices, we expect Russian flows to remain at current levels, if not increase,” Ranjan said.
Among other suppliers, crude imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia fell modestly- by 4% and 2%, respectively - while imports from Angola saw a sharp 22% year-over-year decline in H1 of 2025. In contrast, imports from Nigeria rose by 26% to about 158,000 b/d over the same period. The report also noted that crude oil imports from Brazil rose by 80% YoY in H1 of 2025, highlighting India’s growing preference for non-OPEC suppliers as it seeks to diversify its energy sources.