India’s crude oil procurement framework in 2025 increasingly incorporated quality considerations alongside price, with refiners seeking optimal crude grades for their facilities. Data shows that US crude imports to India surged by 65.6% to $8.2 billion during April-December 2025, while Russian crude imports contracted by more than 17%, falling from $40 billion to $33.1 billion year-on-year.
December 2025 reflected this expanded decision framework. Russian crude shipments to India declined by 15.15% to $2.71 billion from $3.2 billion in December 2024. Industry sources note that while private refiners had purchased Russian crude due to both discounts and their advanced refining capabilities to process such crude, the decision framework expanded beyond these technical factors.
Alternative suppliers offering diverse crude qualities expanded their market share. Saudi Arabia, supplying various crude grades suitable for different refining configurations, increased deliveries by 61% to $1.75 billion in December 2025. The United States, offering light sweet crude particularly valued by certain refiners, posted a 31% gain to $569.30 million. Iraq and the UAE, each with distinct crude characteristics, contributed $2.37 billion and $1.65 billion respectively.
The evolution in decision-making incorporated broader considerations beyond technical processing capability and price. The US imposition of a 25% punitive tariff on Indian goods on August 27, 2025 added geopolitical risk as a quality factor in its own right. Refiners began evaluating crude sources based on supply reliability, trade relationship stability, and processing optimization. Russian crude imports declined from $3.62 billion in July 2025 to $2.71 billion in December 2025.
India’s total crude oil imports from all sources reached $11.29 billion in December 2025, up 9.1% from $10.34 billion in December 2024. Cumulative imports for April-December 2025 totaled $105.10 billion, compared to $109.33 billion in the corresponding period of 2024. The evolved framework demonstrates sophisticated procurement decision-making.