EU's Russian oil curbs may hit India's fuel exports: GTRI
The 18th package of sanctions by the 27-nation EU included a set of measures largely aimed at curbing the revenues of Russia's oil and energy sector, such as an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country.
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that a central component of the package is a ban on the import of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude and exported via third countries, excluding only a select few allies like the US, UK, Canada, and Switzerland.
This measure will hurt nations such as India, Turkey, and the UAE, which have been refining Russian crude and selling diesel, petrol, and jet fuel to Europe, it said.
"India's $5 billion exports of petroleum products to the EU are at risk. The EU's new sanctions ban imports of refined petroleum made from Russian crude via third countries like India," GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.
India exported $19.2 billion worth of petroleum products to the EU in FY24, but this dropped by 27.1% to $15 billion in 2024-25, according to the think tank. It added that India imported $50.3 billion of crude oil from Russia in FY2025, over a third of its total $143.1 billion crude bills.
"Although India continues to engage in legitimate trade with Russia, the political optics of such transactions are shifting in Western capitals. As energy ties deepen, India will have to walk a fine line between economic pragmatism and geopolitical pressure,">
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