The Centre is seeking weekly disclosure of Russian and US crude oil purchases from refineries, signalling India’s intent to clinch a trade deal with the US.
The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the petroleum ministry sought the data from refiners, stating the information is required by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), five industry and government sources told Reuters.
India became the largest buyers of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. Though now dwarfed by China, the purchases have fuelled backlash from the US and the EU who targeted Russia’s oil business with sanctions, arguing that energy revenue is funding Moscow’s war.
The US, which was already looking to narrow its trade deficit with India, doubled import tariffs on almost half of India’s goods to 50 per cent from August last year as punishment for its purchase of Russian barrels.
The two countries are now locked in protracted negotiations for a potential trade deal which has missed several deadlines floated by top India government bureaucrats.
“We want timely and accurate data on Russian and US oil imports so that, when the US asks for information, we can provide verified figures instead of them relying on secondary sources,” a Reuters report said quoting a government official.
The origins of Indian firms’ oil purchases are typically reflected in monthly customs data and by private sector analytics firms. This marks the first time the government has sought such information from refiners on a weekly basis.
While Trump said in October that Modi had pledged to stop buying Russian oil, New Delhi has publicly resisted US pressure, arguing that Russian imports are vital to its energy security.
Two of the sources, both of them government officials, told Reuters that refiners have not been expressly instructed to cut Russian oil purchases. However, they expect imports to average below 1 million bpd in the coming months.