According to data from trade sources, India’s imports of Russian oil increased to a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2% from December. Moscow continued to be New Delhi’s top monthly oil supplier, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

According to the data, India, the third-largest importer and consumer of crude oil worldwide, imported 5 million bpd of Russian crude last month.

As state-run refiners avoid maintenance shutdowns in the first quarter to meet their annual production targets set by the government, India’s oil imports typically increase in December and January.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, refiners in India, who in the past rarely purchased Russian oil due to expensive logistics, have become the country’s main oil customers, snatching up discounted crude shunned by Western countries.

The data showed that last month saw India’s highest-ever imports of Russian Sokol crude oil at 100,900 bpd as output from the Sakhalin 1 field resumed under a new Russian operator.

According to the data, Reliance Industries increased its purchases of long-haul crude in January, increasing India’s imports of oil from Canada to 314,000 bpd.

After the United Arab Emirates, Canada became India’s fifth-largest supplier in January, according to the data.

The data showed that India’s imports of Iraqi oil in January increased by 11% from December to reach a seven-month high of 983,000 bpd.

The data showed that during April through January, the first ten months of this fiscal year, Iraq remained India’s top oil supplier while Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to take over second place and move up to third.

The data showed that because of increased purchases of Russian oil, India’s imports from the Middle East fell to an all-time low of 48% and the number of OPEC members fell to its lowest level ever.

(Adapted from Business-Standard.com)

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