Western agencies have sensationalized the news that India has doubled its imports of American oil in exchange for Russian supplies. However, experts believe that U.S. oil cannot become a serious competitor to Russian oil in the Indian market, and here's why.
India, alongside China, is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil and has indeed doubled its purchases of American crude. From January to April, daily imports rose to 247,000 barrels, nearly double the level of the same period last year, where daily purchases were 124,000 barrels, according to Platts data.

Reuters claims that India had to increase its imports from the U.S. due to a decrease in purchases from Russia. Allegedly, India started to turn away from Russian oil to avoid U.S. sanctions, which at the beginning of the year included a new batch of shadow fleet vessels in the sanctions list.

Bloomberg also wrote off Russian oil, stating that by February 2025, India had brought its purchases of Russian oil to the lowest level since January 2023, indicating the "effectiveness of American sanctions aimed at disrupting supply chains." Moreover, the Western agency forecast that in the upcoming two months, India would further reduce its imports of Russian oil due to a sharp decrease in the available fleet.
However, Russian experts are skeptical of the loud claims that India is allegedly rejecting Russian oil in favor of American supplies. Such sensationalism from Western agencies has emerged for the second consecutive year in spring, notes Alexander Frolov, Deputy Director General of the National Energy Institute and Editor-in-Chief of the industry media outlet "InfoTEK." Last March, they also reported on record purchases of American oil by Indian refineries instead of Russian.

The reality is far from this. In reality, India started importing American oil back in 2015 when the U.S. lifted a long-standing ban on oil exports. However, over a decade of cooperation with Indian refineries, American oil has failed to secure a significant market share in India. Purchases have constantly fluctuated. Moreover, the current rise in exports to 250,000 barrels per day is actually modest; in the past decade, peak volumes have reached over 600,000 barrels per day.

Indian refineries really got a taste for Russian oil only in 2022 when the EU refused to buy it. In just a few months, Russia became the number one supplier to India. Our oil quickly displaced other major suppliers from the Indian market, primarily from the Middle East.

Since then, Russia has consistently remained a leader in the Indian market, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq in second and third places. The share of American oil has always remained small and continues to do so, despite the reported twofold growth in Western media.

According to Frolov, after additional sanctions were imposed against the trading fleet transporting Russian oil, logistical issues did arise, but they were temporary. "In winter, we observed how our suppliers and carriers adapted to the new sanction conditions. But by early spring, even the largest global agencies began to acknowledge that these sanctions did not have a noticeable impact on the volume of Russian oil supplies to markets. After some decline, shipments began to recover and reached levels comparable to last year," Frolov explains.

According to the same Platts estimate, maritime exports of oil from Russia to India reached 1.64 million barrels per day in April 2025.

"Even at the moment when the U.S. allegedly started increasing oil supplies to India, we continued to lead the Indian market among suppliers. Russia competes more with Saudi Arabia and Iraq here than with the United States," says Frolov.

American oil is not a competitor to Russian oil in the Indian market for one simple reason – they are different grades of black gold. Indian refineries are more tailored to handle heavy and medium-heavy grades of oil, which includes Russian Urals, while the U.S. primarily exports light and ultra-light (shale) oil.

"India mainly purchases medium-sulfur Russian Urals oil, from which large refineries achieve a good yield of various petroleum products, including diesel fuel. A significant portion of these petroleum products is exported by Indians to external markets, including to the U.S. and the EU. In some cases, Indian petroleum products made from Russian oil have even replaced Russian products in the European market," says Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the National Energy Security Fund (FNEB).

India does buy the ultra-light low-sulfur oil from the U.S., but for its refining, it needs to be blended with heavier grades of oil, including Russian, the expert adds.

This means that regardless of political agreements at the U.S. and India level, there are technical and economic specifics: Indian refineries simply do not require large volumes of American light oil, as it is less efficient without blending with heavier grades of oil.

And of course, the main advantage of Russian oil, which has allowed it to become the number one supplier in India, is its discounted price.

The volume of Russian oil supplies to India is unlikely to significantly decrease, given that Urals is trading at a double-digit discount to Brent, says Sergey Tereshkin, founder and CEO of the Open Oil Market trading platform. Americans certainly do not offer discounts on their oil.

The fact that India sometimes increases, then reduces its purchases of American oil can be explained by seasonal factors. "Currently, India is trying to boost petroleum production because the automotive season is beginning in the Northern Hemisphere. Delhi wants to meet the rising demand with additional petroleum supplies – and thus earn more. Therefore, in spring it traditionally starts buying more American oil, but in autumn it generally reduces purchases, because in winter motorists consume less fuel than in summer," concludes the FNEB expert.

Source: Vzglyad