India’s crude imports from Russia continue to dip for second consecutive month

Despite the decline in imports from Russia, the country still remains the top supplier of crude oil to India.

India’s crude oil imports from Russia tanked for the second consecutive month in November, declining 4 percent from last month, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

India imported 1.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in November from Russia, compared to 1.55 million in the previous month.

The decline in imports from Moscow comes amid narrowing discounts on Russian oil and payment issues faced by refiners as cost of oil surpasses the price cap.

Oil imports from Russia had declined 4 percent in October as well from the previous month.  Despite the decline in imports from Russia, the country still remains the top supplier of crude oil to India.

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Meanwhile, imports of crude oil from Iraq—India’s Middle-East supplier—increased sharply to 1.03 million bpd in November, compared to 786,000 bpd in previous month. Imports from Iraq constituted 23 percent of India’s total oil imports in November whereas Russian oil’s share was 33 percent.

Russia, which used to supply around 0.2 percent of India’s total oil requirement, has emerged as the largest supplier to the country after the Russia-Ukraine war. The Eurasian country diverted its oil to Asian countries, especially India and China, at discounted rates ever since the European Union (EU) and the US imposed a slew of sanctions on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has become a major source of crude oil for India ever since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, and has overtaken Saudi Arabia and Iraq to become the biggest supplier of the commodity.

However, discounts from Russia have come down in the recent months, which have, in turn, resulted in the cost of oil going above the price cap of $60 per barrel.

India majorly gets discount on Russian Urals, the sour grade of crude, which constitutes the majority of imports from the country. In November, India imported 1.21 million bpd of Russian Urals.

Imports from Saudi Arabia stood at 667,000 bpd in November. India imported total of 4.5 million bpd of crude oil in the month from Russia, Iraq, Saudi, UAE and other countries.

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