Fuel Exports from Russian Crude-Processing Refineries in India, 2 Others Rise 43% in September: CREA

New Delhi, Oct 19 (KNN) Refineries in India, Turkiye and Brunei that process Russian crude shipped oil products worth 1 billion euros to countries imposing sanctions on Russia in September, marking a 43 per cent increase from August, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The European Union (EU) accounted for 667 million euros of these shipments, followed by Australia at 168 million euros, the US at 154 million euros and New Zealand at 19 million euros. CREA estimated that products worth 295 million euros were made from Russian crude, PTI reported, citing the report.

Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat accounted for six of the seven cargoes unloaded at EU ports during the month, despite the bloc's restrictions on imports of oil products refined from Russian crude.

Jamnagar also accounted for the group's largest exports to the US, valued at 122 million euros. Russian crude made up 32 per cent of the refinery's oil imports between July and September.

EU-Bound Shipments Rise 80%

According to CREA, the value of exports reported as destined for EU ports from refineries processing Russian crude increased 80 per cent in September.

Italy received three of the seven EU-bound shipments, Romania two, and Spain and Cyprus one each. One shipment, a 104,000-tonne cargo of diesel from Jamnagar, was still en route to Rotterdam.

The EU banned imports of oil products refined from Russian crude in January 2026. However, the ban exempts net crude oil-exporting countries.

CREA said this exemption leaves a regulatory gap because a country's net-exporter status does not prevent its refineries from processing Russian-origin crude.

The think tank recommended applying the restriction at the refinery level, barring products from any refinery that has processed Russian crude during the preceding six months, irrespective of the declared origin of the exported products.

India's Russian Crude Imports Decline

India's imports of Russian crude fell 13 per cent in September, marking the second consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level since April, CREA said.

Imports declined at the country's three largest Russian crude-importing refineries, with Jamnagar recording a 27 per cent drop, Indian Oil Corporation's Paradip refinery 21 per cent and Nayara Energy's Vadinar refinery 8 per cent.

Despite the decline, Vadinar overtook Jamnagar as India's largest importer of Russian crude.

Imports at HMEL's Mundra Oil Terminal and the Kochi refinery also fell by 74 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively. However, IOC's Mundra Oil Terminal received 570,000 tonnes of Russian crude in September after recording no imports in August.

India Spends 4.1 Billion Euros On Russian Energy

India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September, importing hydrocarbons worth 4.1 billion euros, CREA said.

Crude oil accounted for 88 per cent of the total at 3.6 billion euros, while coal imports stood at 309 million euros and oil products at 161 million euros.

Since December 2022, India has accounted for 37 per cent of Russia's crude oil exports, compared with China's 50 per cent, the report said.

Russian Urals crude averaged USD 90.7 per barrel in September, trading at a discount of USD 23 to Brent crude, unchanged from August.

Tighter Supply, Chinese Competition Affect Imports

The decline in India's Russian crude purchases partly reflects tighter supplies and stronger competition from Chinese buyers rather than US pressure alone, analysts at Kpler said.

They expect India's Russian oil imports to remain between 1.8 million and 1.9 million barrels per day in October.

(KNN Bureau)