India to keep buying Russian crude and LPG after US sanctions waiver lapses

India will continue to import crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia even after the United States allowed its one-month waiver on such imports to lapse, sources familiar with the discussions said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on 16 April 2026 that the waiver — granted in early March 2026 to ease global supply disruptions during the West Asia war — would not be extended.

India's position is straightforward: a sanctions waiver is the United States' prerogative, but India's energy import decisions are guided by its own energy security and price considerations. Indian state-run refiners have already tied up around 800,000 tonnes of LPG supplies from Russia, Australia and the United States combined. The Russian portion is small in absolute terms; the United States remains India's largest LPG supplier under a November 2025 agreement to supply 10 per cent of India's annual requirement, and Canada and Angola are being explored as additional sources.

On crude oil the shift is more dramatic. West Asia accounted for around 60 per cent of India's crude imports before the war that began on 28 February 2026; that share has since fallen to about 30 per cent. Russian crude imports doubled month-on-month in March, with state-owned refiners' Russian purchases jumping 148 per cent — Russian barrels were more available on the spot market and at discounted prices. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026 after China, importing fuels worth around 5.8 billion euros.

The strategic logic is layered. India imports about 90 per cent of its crude requirement, which makes it acutely vulnerable to West Asia supply shocks. Diversification toward Russia gives spot-price flexibility, but it has to be calibrated against secondary sanctions risk on Indian banks and shippers. The Government's preferred operating principle has been to work through non-sanctioned Russian entities, settle in non-dollar currencies where possible, and keep at least three or four major source countries in the basket. The end of the US waiver does not change that calculus; it simply makes the compliance diligence on each cargo more granular.

Exam angle: Remember the import-dependency figure (around 90 per cent of crude imported), the structural shift (West Asia share down from 60 per cent to 30 per cent since the war began on 28 February 2026), the new US-India LPG share (10 per cent annual requirement under the November 2025 deal), and the date the US waiver lapsed (mid-April 2026). Pair with notes on Strategic Petroleum Reserves, the Russia-Ukraine war energy fall-out and CREA as a tracker of Russian fossil-fuel exports.