Economic Survey: India increases crude imports from US, UAE, Russian shipments decline

Economic Survey 2025-26: India diversifies crude sourcing from US, UAE as Russian imports decline

• India upped crude oil imports from US, Egypt, UAE, Nigeria, Libya in FY26.
• Crude imports from Russia, Saudi, Iraq, and Venezuela fell due to global sanctions.
• US crude imports to India rose to 8.1% in Apr-Nov 2025 from 4.6%.

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India broadened its crude souring this fiscal, seeing a notable increase in the diversity of supplier countries.

Although other countries account for a significant portion of India's crude imports, the shares of the US, Egypt, UAE, Nigeria and Libya increased this fiscal 26,  the Economic Survey 2025-26 has said.

In April-November, crude imports from Libya, Egypt, Brazil, the US and Brunei saw a significant increase from the year-ago period, while those from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Venezuela declined.

The reduction in imports from Russia, which has emerged as the top supplier of crude oil in the past months, come, as the US announced high tariffs on countries buying Russian oil while sanctioning its largest oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil.

Between April-November 2025, the share of imports from the US increased to 8.1 percent from 4.6 percent in the same period in FY25, while UAE’s share increased to 11.1 percent from 9.4 percent.

Egypt’s share increased to 1.4 percent from 0.3 percent, Nigeria to 3.3 percent from 2.2 percent and Libya to 0.5 percent from 0.1 percent, survey data shows.

In FY25, India’s import composition continues to be dominated by crude, gold and petroleum products, with these sectors accounting for over one-third of total imports.

Imports of petroleum crude increased marginally by 2.7 percent (YoY) amid softer crude oil prices, reflecting stable energy demand.

Global commodity prices are expected to decline by approximately 7 percent in FY2, primarily driven by subdued crude oil prices amid oversupply, as per World Bank’s Commodity Prices Outlook, October 2025. “Geopolitics may come in the way of this prediction, however,” the survey said.

Analysts believe that India could resume large-scale purchases of Venezuelan crude if US sanctions are lifted after the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, potentially importing about 100,000-150,000 barrels a day.