Russia has become India’s top oil supplier in October, surpassing longtime suppliers Saudi Arabia and Iraq. This is occurring as a result of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in which many Western countries have imposed sanctions on Kremlin figures.
A brief about Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia and Iraq to become India’s top oil supplier in October
According to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa, Russia supplied 935,556 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to India in October, the biggest amount ever. Russia accounted for just 0.2% of India’s total oil imports in the year leading up to March 31, 2022.
The current source of over 22% of India’s total crude imports is Russia, followed by Iraq (20.5%) and Saudi Arabia (16%).
Since it began trading at a discount as the West avoided it as retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, India’s thirst for Russian oil has increased.
In comparison to 1.05 million bpd from Iraq and 952,625 bpd from Saudi Arabia, India purchased just 36,255 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in December 2021, according to Vortexa, an energy intelligence company.
The following two months saw no imports from Russia, but in March—shortly after the Ukraine war began in late February—they resumed.
Russian oil was imported by India at a rate of 68,600 barrels per day (bpd) in March, 266,617 bpd the following month, and a peak of 942,694 bpd in June. But at 1.04 million bpd of oil, Iraq was India’s leading supplier in June. In that month, Russia surpassed China as India’s second-largest supplier.
Over the next two months, imports somewhat decreased. According to Vortexa, they were 876,396 bpd in September and increased to 835,556 bpd in October.
With 888,079 bpd of supplies in October, Iraq dropped to No. 2, followed by Saudi Arabia at 746,947 bpd.
The Indian government has fiercely defended its commerce with Russia, claiming that it must purchase oil from the country where it is most affordable.
“Russian oil purchases made up 0.2% of total purchases in FY22 (April 2021 to March 2022). (of all oil imported by India). We still only purchase 25% of what Europe does in a single day “Hardeep Singh Puri, the oil minister, spoke to CNN last week in Abu Dhabi. “We have a moral obligation to our customers. With a population of 1.34 billion, we must make sure people have access to energy, whether it comes from gasoline or diesel.”
In response to the question of whether India is in a moral bind because of imports from Russia given that country’s crisis with Ukraine, he had said: “Absolute zero There isn’t a moral dilemma. We avoid purchasing from X or Y. We purchase everything is offered. The oil companies are the ones who actually make the purchases, not the government.”
India also hasn’t endorsed a plan put up by the G7 (the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan) to cap the price of oil bought from Russia in an effort to reduce Moscow’s income.
India would review the plan as soon as it is finalised and communicated, according to Puri.
According to its paramount national interest, it will “react.”
He had emphasised that India would seek to source crude oil from a variety of sources and that the nation will also purchase from Guyana and Canada.
