Russia faces revenue hit as US push could stop Indian crude purchases

Flows to drop further in April

If India stopped buying Russian oil, Moscow would have to try to re-route it to China at cheaper prices, which would take time, and cut production and exports, said Igor Yushkov, an analyst at Russia's government-run Financial University.

"Output and export cuts would lead to an oil shortage. Hence we are not seeing a full US ban on Russian oil imports - they would suffer themselves from higher oil prices," said Yushkov.

Russian oil exports and production have stayed largely resilient in the face of some 30,000 Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine since 2014.

Moscow has managed to redirect oil flows away from Europe to China, India and Turkey. Like India, Turkey has also cut purchases in recent months amid tougher Western sanctions.

Russia's total oil exports stood at 4.91 million bpd in December with China being the largest buyer of 2.3 million bpd of crude, according to the International Energy Agency.

India's government has given no instructions to refiners to stop buying Russian oil and they would need a wind-down period to complete purchases already in place for March, sources said.