US to India: Buy Oil from Anywhere, But Not from Russia
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has urged India to reconsider its crude oil imports from Russia. Speaking at a press conference in New York, Wright said, “You can buy oil from anywhere in the world — just not from Russia. The US sells oil, and so do other countries. We don’t want to punish India — we want the war to end and our relationship with India to grow stronger.”
He emphasized that there is a bright future for India-US cooperation in energy and trade, but both nations must work together to put pressure on Russia and bring the war to a close. Wright also revealed that he recently met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to begin talks on future cooperation.
In August, Russia had claimed that there is no alternative to its crude oil due to its low cost. Senior Russian diplomat Roman Babushkin had stated that India was receiving about a 5% discount on Russian crude, yielding significant profits. He also mentioned that India understands there's no real alternative to Russia's oil supply and dismissed US pressure as unwarranted.
This comes at a time when tensions between India and the US are increasing. The US had imposed a total of 50% tariffs on India due to its continued oil purchases from Russia.
Extra Tariff of 25% Imposed on Russian Oil Imports
Under the Trump administration, an additional 25% tariff was imposed on India in August 2025 due to continued purchases of Russian oil. This was on top of a previously imposed 25% “reciprocal” tariff, bringing the total tariffs on India to 50%.
Back in FY 2020, India imported just 1.7% of its crude oil needs from Russia. By FY 2025, this share rose sharply to 35.1%, largely due to the affordability of Russian oil.
Oil Companies Reaped Big Profits
This low-cost import strategy has significantly impacted the profitability of Indian oil companies. In FY 2022–23, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum collectively earned ₹3,400 crore in profit.
In FY 2023–24, their total profits jumped 25 times to a staggering ₹86,000 crore.
Though in FY 2024–25, the profits dropped to ₹33,602 crore, they still remained well above FY 2022–23 levels.