Russian oil now makes up 10 percent of India’s oil import basket in April
Highlight
- The government has previously said that energy purchases from Russia are very low compared to consumption.
- For the first time in April, the share of Russian-origin crude in India’s total marine imports was 10%
- After the US and China, India is the world’s third largest consumer, with over 85 percent of its imports.
The government had earlier said that energy purchases from Russia are very low compared to India’s total consumption.
For the first time in April, the share of Russian-origin crude in India’s total marine imports was 10 percent.
After the US and China, India is the world’s third largest oil consumer, with more than 85 percent of it imported.
India’s crude oil imports from Russia have increased more than 50 times since April and now account for 10 per cent of all crude purchased from abroad, a senior government official said on Thursday. Russian oil made up only 0.2 percent of all oil imported by India before the Ukraine war.
“Russian oil now makes up 10 per cent of India’s oil import basket in April. It is now among the top 10 suppliers,” the official told reporters here. 40 percent of Russian oil has been bought by private refiners – Reliance Industries and Rosneft-backed Naira Energy.
Last month, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become India’s second largest oil supplier after Iraq as refiners snatched available Russian crude at a steep discount after the war in Ukraine. Indian refiners bought about 25 million barrels of Russian oil in May.
For the first time in April, the share of Russian-origin crude in India’s total marine imports stood at 10 per cent, rising from 0.2 per cent throughout 2021 and Q1 2022. India, the world’s third-largest oil-importing and consuming country, has long defended the purchase. Crude oil supplies from Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
The oil ministry said last month that “energy purchases from Russia are very low compared to India’s total consumption”.
Iraq remained India’s top supplier in May and Saudi Arabia is now the third largest supplier. India has taken advantage of concessional prices to increase oil imports from Russia at a time when global energy prices are rising.
After the US and China, India is the world’s third largest oil consumer, with more than 85 percent of it imported. After its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now fewer buyers for Ural crude, some foreign governments and companies have decided to stay away from Russian energy exports, and its price has plummeted.
Indian refiners have taken advantage of this and bought Russian crude oil at a discount of US $ 30 per barrel. Earlier, crude was disadvantageous due to high freight cost.