Refineries in India, Türkiye and Brunei that process Russian crude exported oil products worth €1 billion (USD 1.2 billion) to countries imposing sanctions on Russia in September 2026, marking a 43 per cent increase from August, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Reliance Industries Ltd’s Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat accounted for six of the seven cargoes unloaded at European Union (EU) ports during the month, despite the bloc’s ban on oil products refined from Russian crude.
The EU received products worth €667 million from the three countries, followed by Australia at €168 million, the United States at €154 million and New Zealand at €19 million. CREA estimated that €295 million worth of the products supplied to sanctioning countries had been refined from Russian crude.
Jamnagar also accounted for the group’s largest US-bound exports, valued at €122 million. Russian crude represented 32 per cent of the refinery’s total crude imports between July and September.
Exports reported as destined for EU ports from refineries processing Russian crude increased 80 per cent in value in September. Italy received three of the seven EU-bound shipments, Romania two, and Spain and Cyprus one each. One shipment, comprising 104,000 tonnes of gasoil (diesel) from Jamnagar, was still en route to Rotterdam.
The EU’s ban on imports of oil products refined from Russian crude came into effect in January 2026. CREA said the exemption for net crude oil-exporting countries leaves a regulatory gap, as refineries in those countries can process Russian crude and export the resulting products. The organisation recommended restricting imports from any refinery that has processed Russian crude during the preceding six months, regardless of the declared origin of its products. This remains a recommendation by CREA, rather than adopted EU policy.
India’s imports of Russian crude fell 13 per cent in September, marking the second consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level since April, according to CREA. Imports declined 27 per cent at Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery, 21 per cent at Indian Oil Corporation’s Paradip refinery and 8 per cent at Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery. Despite the overall decline, Vadinar overtook Jamnagar as India’s largest importer of Russian crude.
Imports also fell at smaller facilities, with the HMEL Mundra Oil Terminal recording a 74 per cent decline and the Kochi refinery a 32 per cent reduction month-on-month. In contrast, IOC’s Mundra Oil Terminal received 570,000 tonnes of Russian crude in September after reporting no imports in August.
India remained Russia’s second-largest fossil fuel buyer in September, importing hydrocarbons worth €4.1 billion. Crude oil accounted for €3.6 billion, or 88 per cent, of the total, while coal imports were valued at €309 million and oil products at €161 million. China remained Russia’s largest fossil fuel customer.
Since December 2022, India has accounted for 37 per cent of Russia’s crude oil exports, compared with China’s 50 per cent. India’s purchases of Russian crude rose sharply after Western buyers reduced imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with discounted prices making Russian supplies attractive to Indian refiners.
Russian Urals crude averaged USD 90.7 per barrel in September, maintaining a USD 23 discount to Brent crude, unchanged from August. Analysts at commodity intelligence firm Kpler attributed the decline in Indian imports partly to tighter supply and stronger competition from Chinese buyers, rather than solely to US pressure. Kpler expects India’s Russian crude imports to remain at 1.8 million to 1.9 million barrels per day in October.