India emerged as the second-largest buyer of Russian crude in November, acquiring 38% of the supplies on offer from the Eurasian state, recording a five-month high valuation of $3.04 billion, a think tank said on Friday.
India only trailed China, which was the top buyer of Russian fossil fuels, procuring 47% of Moscow's crude exports last month, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
"India's Russian crude imports recorded a 4 per cent month-on-month increase to the highest volumes in five months, even as overall import volumes remained stable," CREA stated.
"In fact, India's purchases may well record another increase in December, as cargoes loaded before the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions kicked in are delivered through the month," the organisation added.
India spent $2.93 billion on buying seaborne crude from Russia in October.
US sanctions on Russia's state-run oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, appear to have no effect on India's growing appetite to acquire crude from its long-term privileged strategic partner.
As per estimates from ship-tracking data firm Kpler, India's oil imports from Russia are set to jump further in December 2025, surpassing the November figures that stood at 1.83 million barrels per day.