According to data from Vortexa, India imported more Russian crude oil than 10 lakh barrels per day (BPD) for the first time in December. For the third consecutive month, Russia continued to be India’s top oil supplier, providing 11.9 lakh BPD in December. Data show that 25% of India’s total oil imports come from Russia.
According to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa, India’s crude oil import from Russia increased steadily to reach 1 million barrels per day in December 2022. Moscow also maintained its position as the top oil supplier for the third consecutive month.
Russia now accounts for 25% of India’s total oil imports after for the first time in October of last year surpassing longtime leaders Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Previously, Russia delivered 1.19 million BPD in December, making up just 0.2% of all the crude oil that India received in the year ending March 31, 2022. The amount of crude imported in December was greater than the amounts imported in November (909,403 BPD) and October 2022 (935,556 BPD). According to Vortexa, reported by news agency PTI, India purchased 942,694 BPD of crude oil in June 2022, breaking the previous high.
How did Russia surpass Saudi Arabia as India’s leading oil supplier?
As the EU established a price restriction on Russian seaborne oil, imports reached their peak. Refineries sell Russian oil for a lot less than $1 per barrel. According to the energy intelligence company, India purchased 718,357 BPD from Saudi Arabia and 803,228 BPD from Iraq in December. In December 2022, the United Arab Emirates passed the US to take over as India’s fourth-largest oil supplier, selling 323,811 BPD. From 405,525 BPD in November 2022 to 322,015 BPD in November 2018, the US supply decreased.
Since it began trading at a discount following the imposition of sanctions by the West as retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, India’s imports from Russia have increased.
S&P Global Commodity Insights reported that India is intending to pursue an oil import policy that will see significant inflows from both the US and Russia soon while stepping up efforts to further diversify the crude basket to lessen the impact of any supply shock moving forward.
“Although the Russia-Ukraine war has allowed the country’s refiners to bring in plentiful volumes of crude at discounted rates from the largest non-OPEC supplier, that has not led to a fall in market share of the US,” it said. India is working to strengthen its energy ties with Washington.
The government has vigorously defended its trading relations with Russia by claiming that it must purchase oil from the regions where it is most affordable. The Centre previously stated that energy corporations would keep purchasing Russian oil outside of the price cap. Indian refiners will continue to search for the best offers in the interest of the nation, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
More than 60% of the Indian crude basket was made up of Middle Eastern crudes before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The remaining percentages were made up of North American crudes, which accounted for about 14%, West African crudes, which accounted for about 12%, and Latin American crudes, which accounted for about 5%. Russian grades made up just about 2% of the Indian crude basket.
Because West African crudes are primarily Brent-linked and are being imported by European refineries that are out of Russian crude since the start of the war, they are now more expensive for Indian refiners.
