August 12, 2026: India’s imports of crude oil from the US are on track to fall to their lowest level since December 2024, even as Washington pushes New Delhi to reduce its dependence on Russian oil.
 
In a post on LinkedIn, Kpler analyst Sumit Ritoliaa cited data to point to the decline in US crude flows to India. The trend comes despite repeated efforts by the US administration to encourage India to buy more oil from alternative sources, including the US and Venezuela.
 
Kpler data cited by Ritolia show the sharp reversal in India’s US crude purchases. Imports from the US climbed to around 565,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October 2025, the highest level on the chart, before falling steadily in the months that followed. Flows dropped to about 295,000 bpd in January 2026, 215,000 bpd in February and 165,000 bpd in March. After a brief recovery to around 250,000 bpd in May, imports fell to about 160,000 bpd in June and 125,000 bpd in July.

The latest August reading is around 75,000 bpd, putting imports close to the roughly 70,000 bpd recorded in December 2024. From the October 2025 peak, US crude flows to India have fallen by nearly 87 per cent.
 
The decline shows the role of refinery economics, crude quality, freight costs and shipping routes in determining India’s oil purchases.
 
US has pushed India to buy more oil
 
Washington has been seeking to reduce India’s purchases of Russian crude, particularly since the US imposed additional tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases.
 
The US has also offered alternative supplies. In February, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said Washington was in active discussions with New Delhi over Venezuelan oil sales as India looked to diversify its crude sources

(Source: Business Standard)