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India’s largest fuel refiner and retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IoCL)said on Tuesday that it will continue to buy Russian crude oil from non-sanctioned entities and use services of non-sanctioned shippling lines as there were no sanctions on the commodity itself. “We are absolutely not going to discontinue (buying Russian oil) as long as we are complying with the sanctions,” IoCL Director (Finance) Anuj Jain said in a results call with analysts. Russian crude oil had not been sanctioned, he explained. Last week, the US sanctioned Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. It also slapped sanctions on subsidiaries in which the two Russian oil majors hold 50 per cent or more stake. These sanctions will kick-in from November 21. Some Russian shipping lines also face sanctions. “Today, if somebody comes to me, which is a non-sanctioned entity and the cap (price) is being complied with, the shipping is okay, then I will continue to buy it. We know the source of the crude (bought from spot markets). Certificate of origin is absolutely important and part of standard documents when you make payments,” Jain emphasised. Meanwhile, a top government official said that the decision to source oil, including from Russia, is taken at the company level. “Companies decide which oil is most economical and whether it complies with government norms. They look at both thethings..., he added. There’s no question of the government telling them to buy more or less.,” the official said on the sidelines of the energy technology meet in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Jain pointed out that IoCL keeps a database of all sanctioned entities in the crude oil and gas supply chain, which is regularly updated. “Besides these two (Rosneft and Lukoil), there are entities in the past also (that have been sanctioned). So, we maintain a data bank. When we purchase, we comply with all the international sanctions,” he emphasised. While Russian crude oil accounted for 24 per cent of IoCL’s cumulative purchases in April-June in FY26, it came down to 20 per cent during the July-September period. Its total procurement in H1 FY26 stood at around 21 per cent. Jain’s comments comes a day after IoCL Chairman AS A S Sahney told reporters that the OMC will abide by the sanctions. He did not offer any comments on the quantum of Russian cargoes the company will procure going ahead. US President Donald Trump had recently said that India will bring down its oil imports from Russia to almost nothing by the year-end. India procured 1.7 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil from Russia so far in 2025, which is over 35 per cent of its total oil imports. (With inputs from KV Kurmanath) Published on October 28, 2025
