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Russian crude imports are expected at around 2.1 mbpd in August, down from 2.6 mbpd in June and July; fresh US sanctions on Iran are unlikely to have a material direct impact

Sudheer Pal Singh 3 min read Last Updated : Aug 27 2026 | 6:39 PM IST

India’s crude oil imports from Russia are expected to be around 2.1 million barrels per day (mbpd) in August, down sharply from the record levels of around 2.6 mbpd seen in June and July this year, fresh data from maritime intelligence and research firm Kpler showed.

Despite the decline in August, Russia remains India's largest crude supplier, accounting for more than 40 per cent of India's crude imports, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 611 thousand barrels per day (kbpd), Saudi Arabia at 385 kbpd, Venezuela at 383 kbpd, Nigeria at 129 kbpd, and Brazil at 120 kbpd.

"The decline does not reflect weakening Indian appetite for Russian crude. It reflects a combination of refinery maintenance, some normalisation after very strong crude buying in recent months, lower Russian export availability and increasing competition from China," said Sumit Ritolia, senior manager, modelling, at Kpler.

In July 2026, too, Russia was the largest supplier of crude to India at 2.6 mbpd, followed by the UAE at 470 kbpd, Saudi Arabia at 390 kbpd, Venezuela at 218 kbpd, and Oman supplying 202 kbpd of crude.

August data also shows that the shift of India's energy imports towards the US has broadly continued over the past few months, particularly for LPG.

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