India’s September Crude Oil Imports Rise Over 16% Month-on-Month, Government Data Shows

India's crude oil imports rose more than 16 per cent in September from the previous month to 22.26 million metric tonnes, according to government data released on Friday. On an annual basis, crude oil imports were up 9 per cent from 20.35 million tonnes recorded in September of the previous year, based on figures from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.

Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS, noted that the increase in imports was largely driven by the return of Middle Eastern barrels and lower Russian volumes. This shift reflects a normalisation of India’s crude slate as Gulf supply availability recovers.

Data obtained from trade sources indicated that India's Russian oil imports in September declined by 13.7 per cent from August to about 1.8 million barrels per day. This accounted for approximately a third of the country's overall purchases.

Meanwhile, imports of oil products fell 0.8 per cent in September from August, and were down about 40 per cent from a year earlier. Product exports saw an annual increase of more than 6 per cent, reaching 5.22 million tonnes.

Domestic fuel consumption in September rose 3.9 per cent from August to 19.26 million metric tonnes, according to data released earlier in the month. Specific product movements showed LPG imports increasing to 1.40 million tonnes in September from 1.30 million tonnes in August. In contrast, fuel oil imports slumped nearly 99 per cent year-on-year to 0.01 million tonnes from 0.69 million tonnes a year earlier.

In the export segment, jet fuel exports rose 32.5 per cent month-on-month to 0.53 million tonnes. However, petrol exports last month were 49 per cent lower year-on-year, and diesel exports were down nearly 27 per cent for the same period.

The government also made policy adjustments regarding taxation, cutting windfall taxes on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel effective October 1. The government had previously reintroduced the tax in March following a spike in crude prices during the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

"The recent data on India's crude oil imports highlights the dynamic nature of energy procurement and supply chain adjustments. The shift back toward Middle Eastern sources alongside moderated Russian volumes demonstrates how national refiners continuously rebalance their crude slates in response to global availability and pricing. For businesses reliant on energy inputs and logistics, monitoring these shifting import baselines is essential for understanding broader macroeconomic trends and fuel cost management." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes