Russia Becomes Top Naphtha Supplier to India in FY25, Overtakes UAE

Russia became the top naphtha supplier of India in the fiscal year 2025 as refiners prioritising discounted cargoes, Reuters reported, citing preliminary ship-tracking. Buyers expect that this trend will continue for one more year.

Russia has been India's top crude oil supplier for the last two years. As the third largest crude importer and oil consumer in the world, India heavily relies upon Russia for cheaper oil, Western sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow's revenue due to the Ukraine war.

According to ship-tracking data from OilX and Kpler, India imported nearly 3mn tons of naphtha between April 2024 and March 2025, with over 50% contribution from Russia. This marks a significant surge from the 14%-16% contribution in the last year.

Meanwhile, the UAE—previously India’s top supplier—saw its share, primarily from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, decline to just over 20%, nearly half of what it was during the same period, according to report.

The report revealed that Russian naphtha from Ust-Luga, Sheskharis and Novorossiysk ports has arrived at India's western ports of Mundra, Hazira and Sikka, destined for petrochemical plants of HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) and Reliance Industries.

The news agency also cited two sources saying that Russian naphtha was $14-$15 per ton cheaper than Middle Eastern product as of this week. India is positioned seventh among Asian naphtha importers; however, imports are estimated to rise due to growing domestic petrochemicals demand and upcoming crackers in the next 3-4 years.

India's Fuel Demand

In December last year, India's fuel consumption surged 2.1% year-on-year to 20.67mn metric tons, marking a seven-month high. During the same month, Russian state oil firm Rosneft also agreed to supply about 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Indian private refiner Reliance. This marked biggest ever energy deal between both countries, according to reports.