India's petroleum product exports reached a record level in 2025. Despite the impact of Western sanctions and blockades on the Suez Canal, the export volumes have increased. The main reason cited for this growth is the strong refining margins created in the international market as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2025, various petroleum products accounted for more than 10 per cent of India's total export value.
Fuel exports rise despite global disruptions
According to maritime intelligence agency Kpler, India's fuel exports reached 12.8 lakh barrels per day in 2025. This is 4 per cent higher than the previous year. Reliance Industries led these exports.
For the first time in history, state-owned Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has emerged as India's second-largest fuel exporter. As a result, Russia's Rosneft-operated Nayara Energy has dropped to third place.
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Refining margins and capacity expansion drive growth
Regarding India's petroleum product exports, Kpler analyst Sumit Ritolia said, "India's strong fuel exports have been made possible by high refinery utilisation, flexible configuration, and favourable arbitrage in Atlantic Basin and Asian markets. There is strong potential for this momentum to continue this year." He further said, "Refinery capacity and production increases will be the main driving force. HPCL's Rajasthan refinery capacity expansion, Panipat refinery expansion and debottlenecking, and higher utilisation of other government and private refineries will collectively increase petroleum product availability."
Increased availability of transportation fuel from new plants means private refineries have more products available for export. A state-owned source said the primary responsibility of state oil marketing companies is to ensure the country's daily domestic demand of 55 lakh barrels. Credit rating agency Icra's Senior Vice-President Prashant Vashishth said that India's fuel exports will remain fairly stable this year.
Reliance dominates India’s fuel exports
In 2025, Reliance exported 9.11 lakh barrels of fuel daily. This represents 71 per cent of India's total petroleum product exports. MRPL and Nayara follow. Reliance said it has stopped importing Russian crude oil to comply with European Union sanctions. According to the company, no Russian oil is used at the export-oriented Jamnagar refinery with a daily capacity of 7 lakh barrels.
The MRPL refinery in Mangalore, with a daily capacity of 3 lakh barrels, exported 1.21 lakh barrels of fuel daily. MRPL alone accounts for more than 9 per cent of India's total fuel exports. This surpassed Nayara's daily exports of 1.07 lakh barrels.
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This year, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) commissioned a new refinery with a daily capacity of 1.8 lakh barrels in Barmer, Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) is increasing the capacity of its Panipat refinery by 2 lakh barrels per day. Nearly half of India's total fuel exports are diesel and jet fuel.
Nayara was India's second-largest exporter until 2024. In 2025, Nayara's exports decreased by 15 per cent compared to the previous year. According to Kpler, the main reason was the European Union sanctions taking effect in July. Due to these sanctions, Nayara's refinery, with a daily capacity of 4 lakh barrels, lost the opportunity to export crude oil from many international oil-producing countries. The company's exports to Europe also stopped. After Asia, Europe was India's second-largest fuel buyer. 21 per cent of India's total exports went to Europe.
According to the Ministry of Commerce data, India's fuel export figure from January to November 2025 stood at $52 billion or 5,200 crore dollars. Total petroleum product exports in the 2024-25 financial year were $44.4 billion. In the previous financial year, this figure was $47.7 billion.
