Russia has become India’s largest oil supplier, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as refiners buy up Russian crude oil offered at large discounts following EU sanctions targeting Russia’s hydrocarbon sector, according to real-time energy cargo tracker Vortexa.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, India – the world's third-largest oil importer – has taken a firm stance in its insistence in buying Russian oil that it is now selling at huge discounts despite the EU ban.
With 946,000 barrels daily in October, Russia provided India with the most crude oil in a single month. It provided 22% of India's total crude oil imports, compared to Saudi Arabia's 16% and Iraq's 20.5%.
In October, global crude imports jumped by 5% compared to September, while those from Russia increased by 8%, according to Vortexa, an energy intelligence business with offices in Singapore and London that monitors oil and gas ships around the globe and offers freight and inventories analytics.
Indian imports of Russian crude by sea increased. In addition, India bought fuel oil from Russia at a record-breaking rate of 106,000 barrels per day in October. As a result of the severe price cuts that followed the February invasion of Ukraine, Russia's market share in India increased significantly from less than 1% in 2021.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr