India Reduces Imports of Russian Oil as Russia Increases LNG Exports to Test Trump’s Position

India and the United States are set to hold trade negotiations this week, during which New Delhi expressed its readiness to increase purchases of American energy resources, including natural gas. In this way, India aims to alleviate Washington’s concerns regarding the scale of its imports of Russian oil. Additionally, the Indian government has stated its interest in attracting private investors from the U.S. to develop renewable and nuclear energy, as well as its openness to increasing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.

This is reported by AgroReview

Reduction of Russian Oil Imports by India

According to analytical data, by the summer of 2025, India’s state-owned oil refineries reduced their purchases of Russian oil by more than 45%. While in June, deliveries reached 1.1 million barrels per day, by September, the volume of imports had decreased to approximately 600,000 barrels per day. Experts note that this reduction is significant and reflects a change in the structure of import supplies amid political pressure and rising tanker freight costs.

“In September, the volume of Russian oil supplies for India’s state-owned refineries was about 600,000 barrels per day, while in June the figure reached 1.1 million barrels. Specialists described the reduction as substantial and noted that it reflects a change in the structure of imports against the backdrop of political pressure and increasing freight costs.”

Despite this, private oil refining companies, including key players like Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy (controlled by Rosneft), are, on the contrary, increasing their purchases of Russian oil. As a result, the total volume of Russian oil imports to India has stabilized at around 1.6 million barrels per day, although in June this figure reached a record 2 million barrels per day. Analysts expect that the trend of reducing Russian oil imports will continue in October.

Increase in Russian LNG Exports Despite Sanctions

While India reduces its purchases of Russian oil, the Russian Federation is ramping up its exports of liquefied natural gas. In particular, the Arctic LNG 2 plant, located in the Arctic and under U.S. sanctions, continues to ship LNG. Moscow is thus testing President Donald Trump’s stance on adhering to the sanctions regime. Since June of this year, Arctic LNG 2 has already prepared its tenth shipment of liquefied gas, and since August, eight vessels carrying sanctioned Russian LNG have arrived at the Chinese terminal in Beihai.