MOSCOW, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that included a halt to Indian oil purchases from Russia.
The U.S. wants to curb Russia's oil revenues to make it harder for Moscow to fund the war in Ukraine.
Following are some key facts about oil business between Russia and India:
OIL PURCHASES
India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, became the top buyer of Russia's seaborne oil after the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022.
Moscow wants India to maintain higher purchases after some Indian refiners stopped imports under sanctions pressure in November.
Data from trade sources showed India's Russian oil imports fell to their lowest in two years in December, while OPEC's share of Indian imports rose to an 11-month high.
Tighter U.S. and European Union sanctions have slowed Russian oil flows to India, with imports dropping about 22% to 1.38 million barrels per day in December from the previous month.
That reduced Russia's overall share to 27.4%, the lowest since January 2023, while OPEC's share rose to 53.2%, the data showed.
Despite the drop, Russia remained the top supplier of oil to India in December and during the first nine months of this fiscal year to March 31, 2026, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft, is running exclusively on Russian oil after other suppliers pulled back. Russia wants India's support to boost Nayara's local fuel sales and capacity use.
UPSTREAM ASSETS
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp seeks to retain its 20% stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in its far east.
Indian companies Oil India Ltd, Indian Oil Corp and Bharat PetroResources hold a 23.9% interest in JSC Vankorneft and a 29.9% stake in Taas Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha, both oil-producing subsidiaries of Rosneft.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, also holds a 26% stake in JSC Vankorneft.
Millions of dollars in dividends owed to Indian companies from these assets remain stuck in Russian banks.
Oil India also holds a 50% stake in Russian oil block License 61.
Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Jan Harvey
Source: Reuters