Russia now among India's top 10 crude oil suppliers

Imports by oil refinery majors Reliance and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy alone constitute 40% of the total Russian crude flowing into India. Despite the dramatic increase, India’s imports of crude are still largely dominated by West Asian countries with Iraq at the top.

ET Now Digital

Updated Jun 25, 2022, 12:28 IST

Russia now among top 10 in Indian crude suppliers

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Russia is now among India’s top 10 suppliers of crude with shipments accounting for 10% of the total crude oil imported by India. Private refiners in India increased imports from April to May making Moscow one of the top suppliers. India’s imports of Russian oil have increased 50 folds from 0.2% in the preceding 10 months, an unnamed government official told Times of India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin during the BRICS conference on Wednesday said oil exports to India and China are growing noticeably. Putin’s comments will be taken note of in Western capitals which work in tandem to isolate Moscow from the global economy in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war.

International oil prices skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine and India needed cheaper oil to curb galloping inflation at home.

“When oil prices go up you are left with no option, you will buy from anywhere. We have a very well defined understanding of what India’s interests are,” oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently told reporters.

India has been pursued relentlessly by Western allies to cut its oil imports from Russia—which India can ill afford at the moment, given the deep impact of oil prices on the domestic economy.

India and China have been able to secure steep discounts from Russian companies.

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