By Nidhi Verma
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) -Many Indian refiners have paused new orders for Russian oil since U.S. sanctions last week on Moscow’s top two crude exporters as they await clarity from the government and suppliers, with some turning to the spot market for alternatives, industry sources said.
However, state-run Indian Oil said on Tuesday it would not stop buying Russian oil as long as it is complying with sanctions.
“Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines which have got sanctions,” Anuj Jain, Indian Oil’s finance director, said during a post-earnings call.
“Today if somebody comes to me with a non-sanctioned entity, and the cap is being complied with, and the shipping is okay, then I will continue to buy it,” he said.
India became the top buyer of seabourne Russian crude after Moscow’s Ukraine invasion in 2022, buying 1.9 million barrels per day in the first nine months of 2025, or 40% of Russia’s total exports, according to the International Energy Agency.
Indian Oil has issued a tender for oil supplies while Reliance Industries has boosted purchases from the spot market, according to sources who declined to be identified as the matter is not public.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is also seeking to buy 1 million to 2 million barrels of crude, according to a tender document issued on Tuesday.
Another state refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp, also plans to issue a spot tender in 7-10 days to buy December-loading cargoes to replace Russian oil, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The company would buy Russian oil only from non-sanctioned entities, the source added.
The European Union, the UK and the U.S. have imposed a raft of sanctions against Russia. Fresh U.S. measures last week targeting Russian producers Lukoil and Rosneft prompted Indian refiners to scramble to curtail Russian oil imports, Reuters reported.
SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVES
BPCL buys 2 million metric tons (14.66 million barrels) of oil from spot markets monthly, most of which is Russian, the source said. For half of this supply, it hopes to keep buying Russian oil from non-sanctioned entities, he said, adding that the rest will be non-Russian oil purchased from spot markets.
The immediate replacement for Russian oil is Iraq’s Basrah Heavy and Basrah Medium as well as U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, the source said, adding that the delivered cost of WTI is now $3-$3.50 per barrel higher than rival grades.
BPCL is covered for November, the source said, adding that the company needs oil for December.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One refinery source said their firm had not yet placed orders for fresh cargoes and had cancelled orders booked from traders with links to sanctioned entities, while another said his firm is waiting to see if it can get cargoes from non-sanctioned traders or entities.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, additional reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore and Suthuraman N R in New Delhi; Writing by Urvi Dugar and Tony Munroe; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Kim Coghill)
