Pak Sahafat – Russia’s oil import from India reached its highest level in February, and Russia became the first exporter of oil to India, bypassing Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report from the Hindu newspaper on Sunday, India’s crude oil import from Russia increased to a record 1.6 million barrels per day in February and is now higher than the total crude oil imports of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
According to energy cargo tracker Vertexa, for the fifth consecutive month, Russia is the largest supplier of India’s crude oil, which is converted into gasoline and diesel in refineries, supplying more than a third of all imported oil.
Russia had a share of less than 1% in India’s import basket before the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, but India’s imports from Russia increased to 1.62 million barrels per day in February, accounting for a 35% share.
India, the world’s third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, buys Russian oil at a discount after some Western countries shunned it as a tool to punish Moscow for its attack on Ukraine.
The increase in Russian imports has been at the expense of Saudi Arabia and the United States. India’s oil import from Saudi Arabia decreased by 16% compared to the previous month and oil import from America decreased by 38%.
According to Vortexa, Russia is now India’s main exporter of oil, more than the combined oil purchased from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, India’s main oil suppliers for decades.
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In February, Iraq supplied 9 million 39 thousand 921 barrels of oil per day to India, while Saudi Arabia supplied 6 million 47 thousand 813 barrels of oil per day.
The UAE overtook the United States to become India’s fourth largest supplier, producing 4,04,570 barrels per day. The United States supplied 2,48,430 bpd, down from 3,99,914 bpd in January.
Serena Huang, Head of Asia Pacific Analysis at Vertexa, said: Indian refiners are benefiting from increased refining margins from processing Russian crude at a discount.
He added: As long as economic conditions are favorable and financing and logistics services are available to support the trade, Indian refiners’ import appetite for Russian barrels is likely to remain strong. Russia is selling record amounts of crude oil to India to close its energy export gap after the European Union banned imports in December.
In December, the European Union banned the purchase of Russian offshore oil and imposed a $60-a-barrel price ceiling that prevents other countries from using EU shipping and insurance services unless oil is sold below the ceiling.
Industry officials said Indian refiners use the UAE dirham to pay for oil imported at less than $60.
Almost a quarter of Russian imports are now paid in dirhams, an Indian official said.