India’s imports of Russian fossil fuels climbed to a record EUR 6.4 billion in October, fuelled by a steep rise in crude oil purchases, according to a monthly analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).The increase has helped Russia record its highest monthly revenue from fossil fuel exports since December 2022, despite Western sanctions.China continued to lead the list of buyers worldwide. It accounted for 51% of Russia’s export revenue from the five largest importing countries, with purchases worth EUR 10.7 billion.Also Read | Diversifying away from Russia: Trump admin wants to sell Venezuela oil to India, but how much can it buy?
India’s record purchases from Russia
The think tank noted that China and India, Russia’s two biggest fossil fuel customers, both recorded their highest monthly purchases since January 2022. The figures underline Moscow’s continued reliance on Asian markets, even as Western governments step up restrictions on its energy trade.China bought Russian fossil fuels worth EUR 10.7 billion during October, while India’s purchases totalled EUR 6.4 billion. The European Union followed with imports worth EUR 2.2 billion. Turkiye ranked fourth, purchasing EUR 1.1 billion, while South Korea was fifth with imports of EUR 488 million.
Who bought Russia’s fossil fuels in October 2026?
“India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in October 2026, importing a total of EUR 6.4 billion of Russian hydrocarbons, its highest monthly total in data going back to January 2022. Crude oil constituted 91 per cent of India’s purchases, totalling EUR 5.8 billion. Coal (EUR 333 million) and oil products (EUR 232 million) constituted the remainder of its monthly Russian imports,” the report said.“India’s imports of Russian crude oil rose in October 2026, up 10% month-on-month. Russian crude imports rose at all three of India’s largest importing refineries: (Nayara Energy’s) Vadinar (up 12 per cent month-on-month), (Reliance Industries Ltd’s) Jamnagar (up 22 per cent), and (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s) Paradip (up 28 per cent),” CREA said.“This increase has once again made the Jamnagar refinery the biggest importer of seaborne Russian crude.”
Countries imposing sanctions continue to import
The European Union ranked third among Russia’s biggest fossil fuel buyers in October 2026. Its purchases accounted for 11 per cent of the export revenues generated by the top five importing countries, which was around EUR 2.2 billion.Refineries in India, Turkiye and Brunei processing Russian crude also shipped oil products worth EUR 1.6 billion to countries that had imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.“The destinations include the EU (EUR 1.2 billion), Australia (EUR 271 million), the US (EUR 94 million), and New Zealand (EUR 23 million). An estimated EUR 389 million of these products were refined from Russian crude.”CREA said Russia’s earnings from fossil fuel exports rose 14 per cent month-on-month in October to EUR 754 million a day, the highest monthly level since December 2022. Higher crude oil prices and record revenues from seaborne oil shipments helped counter the impact of Western sanctions, allowing Moscow to maintain its energy exports.Russia’s export earnings increased even though its overall fossil fuel export volumes remained largely stable, indicating that higher international energy prices played a growing role in boosting its revenues. The rise also came amid elevated global oil and gas prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.Exports travelling to the US in October came from India’s Jamnagar refinery (EUR 94 mn). Between August and October 2026, 30% of the Jamnagar refinery’s crude imports came from Russia.CREA estimated that the rise in oil and gas prices following the US-Israel strikes on Iran added $35.9 billion, or approximately EUR 31 billion, to Russia’s seaborne fossil fuel export revenues over the following six months.
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