India Dismisses U.S. Criticism of Profiteering from Russian Oil Imports
India is not profiteering from importing Russian crude, it actually helps keep global oil prices in check, Indian Hardeep Singh Puri wrote in a column in The Hindu newspaper on Monday, amid growing criticism from the United States that the world’s third-largest crude importer is profiteering from Russia’s oil.
“India's adherence to all international norms prevented a catastrophic $200 per barrel shock,” Puri wrote in the column.
“Some critics allege that India has become a ‘laundromat’ for Russian oil. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the minister said.
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that India is “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin”, referring to New Delhi importing cheap Russian oil and selling the refined fuels at higher prices in Europe and Asia.
“Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people,” Navarro told Fox News, defending the Trump Administration’s now-hiked 50% tariff on Indian goods, 25% of which is due to India’s continued imports of Russian crude.
In response to the “profiteering” claim, India’s Puri wrote that “Russian oil has never been sanctioned like Iranian or Venezuelan crude; it is under a G-7/European Union price cap system deliberately designed to keep oil flowing while capping revenues.”
India hasn’t broken any rules on Russian oil, the Indian minister said, adding that it has “stabilized markets and kept global prices from spiraling.”
“The truth is that there is no substitute for the world’s second-largest producer supplying nearly 10% of global oil,” Puri wrote.
“Those who are pointing fingers ignore this fact.”
The heated remarks over India’s role in Russian oil trade come as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a security summit in China.
Meanwhile, India’s refiners are expected to import more Russian crude in September compared to August levels as discounts are deepening amid Russia’s constrained refining capacity due to Ukrainian drone strikes, traders told Reuters last week.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
India is not profiteering from importing Russian crude, it actually helps keep global oil prices in check, Indian Hardeep Singh Puri wrote in a column in The Hindu newspaper on Monday, amid growing criticism from the United States that the world’s third-largest crude importer is profiteering from Russia’s oil.
“India's adherence to all international norms prevented a catastrophic $200 per barrel shock,” Puri wrote in the column.
“Some critics allege that India has become a ‘laundromat’ for Russian oil. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the minister said.
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that India is “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin”, referring to New Delhi importing cheap Russian oil and selling the refined fuels at higher prices in Europe and Asia.
“Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people,” Navarro told Fox News, defending the Trump Administration’s now-hiked 50% tariff on Indian goods, 25% of which is due to India’s continued imports of Russian crude.
In response to the “profiteering” claim, India’s Puri wrote that “Russian oil has never been sanctioned like Iranian or Venezuelan crude; it is under a G-7/European Union price cap system deliberately designed to keep oil flowing while capping revenues.”
India hasn’t broken any rules on Russian oil, the Indian minister said, adding that it has “stabilized markets and kept global prices from spiraling.”
“The truth is that there is no substitute for the world’s second-largest producer supplying nearly 10% of global oil,” Puri wrote.
“Those who are pointing fingers ignore this fact.”
The heated remarks over India’s role in Russian oil trade come as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a security summit in China.
Meanwhile, India’s refiners are expected to import more Russian crude in September compared to August levels as discounts are deepening amid Russia’s constrained refining capacity due to Ukrainian drone strikes, traders told Reuters last week.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
India’s Defiance Could Reshape the Oil Chessboard
- India has only modestly trimmed Russian crude purchases and signals it will keep buying discounted barrels, prioritizing growth and domestic politics over U.S. pressure.
- Tougher tariffs or sanctions on India risk lifting global oil prices, stoking U.S. inflation and market volatility.
- China is filling some gaps, underscoring the limits of Western energy sanctions and the shifting oil order toward BRICS alignment.
Washington’s standoff with New Delhi over Russian crude imports has become a telling measure of the effectiveness and limits of Western sanctions. India has eased back slightly on purchases of Urals barrels, trimming perhaps three to five hundred thousand barrels per day, but the overall message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been firm. Cheap Russian oil remains too valuable to give up, and the political mood at home rewards defiance rather than retreat.
For the United States, the dilemma is clear. A threatened rise in tariffs on Indian exports to America would not just squeeze New Delhi. It would also feed directly into US inflation at a time when domestic prices are already a sensitive political issue. Indian refiners are still importing more than one and a half million barrels per day of Russian crude. If those volumes were forced out of the market overnight, replacement barrels would come at a higher cost, pushing up fuel prices worldwide. Punishment for India could quickly turn into pain for American consumers.
Events in Ukraine have only sharpened the tension. Attacks on Russian refineries and ports continue, disrupting product flows and forcing Moscow to ship more crude abroad. The market is already unsettled, and any sudden shift in Indian buying habits risks aggravating the volatility. Washington knows this. The memory of 2022, when emergency stock releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were needed to cool oil prices, still hangs heavy.
China complicates the picture. As India trims a fraction of its purchases, Chinese buyers appear to have stepped in, though their capacity to absorb further volumes remains a key question mark. Beijing has the advantage of shadow financial channels that allow it to skirt sanctions more easily. India lacks such networks, leaving its refiners more exposed to pressure. The precedent is important: during the previous Trump administration, India halted Iranian imports entirely once secondary sanctions were imposed. That history gives the United States a measure of confidence that firm action could eventually force Modi’s hand.
Critics argue that India has profited handsomely from discounted Russian oil. That is partly true, but it is far from unique. China, Turkey and Brazil have also secured cheaper barrels and products. India’s refiners have not dramatically expanded exports, since domestic demand has risen strongly and absorbed much of the supply. What has changed is the structure of global oil trade. Asian buyers now find themselves in a position to dictate terms, something that would have been unthinkable before the invasion of Ukraine.
The risk for Washington lies in overplaying its hand. Should tariffs and related sanctions be raised further and Indian purchases curtailed sharply, global prices could surge well beyond the $100 mark. Few Western leaders are prepared for that scenario. Meanwhile, Modi and Xi met in late August to improve broader relations, a sign that BRICS nations are only aligning more closely as this saga continues, at least in the oil world.
On the other hand, stepping back would send an equally powerful message: that sanctions on Russian energy have hard limits which Moscow can exploit. The balance between domestic politics, foreign policy and energy security is becoming harder to maintain.
For New Delhi, the calculation is equally fraught. Continued access to cheap crude underpins rapid economic growth and offers a shield against inflationary pressures at home. Yet reliance on Moscow leaves India open to charges of undermining the West’s wider sanctions regime. A modest reduction in volumes seems to be the compromise for now: enough to signal some flexibility, not enough to threaten growth. The trouble is that such half-measures satisfy neither side.
Energy is no longer just a commodity. It is the currency of global power, traded in barrels and measured in diplomatic concessions. India’s stance has highlighted the fragility of Western sanctions, China’s opportunism, and the uncomfortable reality that cheap Russian oil continues to find willing buyers. The next US move will carry consequences far beyond New Delhi. Whether Washington escalates or retreats, the oil market will be shaped not by technical supply balances but by the politics of defiance, nationalism and geopolitical rivalry.
By Neil Crosby via Sparta Commodities
Saudi Arabia and Iraq Cease Oil Shipments to This Sanctioned Indian Refiner
According to a report by Reuters, Saudi Aramco and Iraq’s SOMO have stopped supplying crude to Nayara Energy’s refinery in Gujarat after the European Union sanctioned the Indian company in July, citing its 49% ownership by Russia’s Rosneft. People familiar with the matter said Aramco halted sales over payment complications tied to the sanctions, while Nayara received no Iraqi cargoes in August.
Kpler data show the refinery’s last non-Russian deliveries were Arab Light on July 18 and Basrah Heavy on July 29, leaving the plant reliant on Russian Urals. In August, Nayara imported an average of 242,000 barrels per day—the lowest since November 2022—against nameplate capacity of 400,000 b/d, as it cut runs and increasingly tapped “dark-fleet” tankers to keep barrels moving. All August imports were Urals; by comparison, roughly 29% of Nayara’s 2024 intake had come from the Middle East.
The EU measures aim to further restrict Kremlin oil revenues, much of which now flows via discounted sales to Asia. Nayara has asked New Delhi for help securing compliant banking channels and shipping for both crude and products. The Modi government, however, is facing intensifying U.S. pressure to curb purchases of Russian oil, including a new 50% tariff on Indian goods headed to the American market.
Despite the squeeze, Nayara’s August buying helped lift India’s total Russian crude intake by 88,000 b/d to 1.69 million b/d. A Nayara spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Saudi Aramco and SOMO did not immediately comment.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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