India’s Russian crude imports hit record high in July

India’s crude oil imports from Russia hit a record, in value terms, at around $6.4 billion, or roughly ₹61,000 crore, last month, surpassing the June 2026 high of $5.14 billion.

Analysts and refiners emphasised that Moscow has transformed into New Delhi’s strongest energy security hedge, particularly since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) and growing disruptions in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

The Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) pointed out that while Russia’s oil product exports hit an all-time low, India recorded its highest level of imported Russian crude ever.

“India’s imports of Russian crude oil reached a record high for the second consecutive month in July 2026, rising by 2.1 per cent M-o-M and valued at euro 5.5 billion,“ it said.

India’s imports of Russian crude oil reached a record high for the second consecutive month in July 2026. The increase was driven by terminals other than the two largest, Jamnagar (Reliance Industries) and Paradip (Indian Oil Corporation), it added.

“Imports rose by 58 per cent at HPCL Mittal Energy (HMEL) Mundra, 35 per cent at IndianOil Vadinar SMPL and 37 per cent at Mumbai, while volumes at Jamnagar were unchanged and those at Paradip fell by 22 per cent,” CREA said.

In July, Russian oil product export loadings fell 23 per cent to 4.7 million tonne (mt), their lowest level on record and less than half the 9.6 mt loaded in July 2025. Tuapse, under sustained drone attack since May, loaded almost no oil products for a second consecutive month, CREA pointed out.

Overall, India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in July 2026, importing a total of Euro 6.4 billion ($7.4 billion) of Russian hydrocarbons.

Crude oil constituted 87 per cent of India’s purchases, totalling Euro 5.5 billion. Coal (Euro 512 million) and oil products (Euro 341 million) constituted the remainder of their monthly Russian imports.

Russia’s crude oil export revenues were broadly flat, up 1 per cent month-on-month to Euro 392 million per day. However, this masks a 21 per cent fall in pipeline crude export earnings, offset by a 7 per cent rise in seaborne crude export revenues, it added.

In July 2026, the average price of Russia’s Urals-grade crude fell by 3 per cent month-on-month to $60.22 per barrel, still significantly higher than the EU and UK price cap of $44.1 per barrel, which took effect on February 1, 2026 and has been capped at the same level under the EU’s 21st sanctions package.

The price discount of Urals-grade crude oil relative to the global benchmark Brent remained flat at 26 per cent, or $21 per barrel last month, CREA said.