This country has overtaken Russia to be India's No. 2 oil supplier in August
This country has taken over Russia to be India's No. 2 oil supplier in August.
PremiumIn the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in late February, India has replaced China as Russia's second-largest oil importer. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia replaced Russia as India's second-largest oil exporter in August after a three-month hiatus while Iraq continued to hold the top spot.
Being the third-largest oil importer and consumer in the world, India imported 863,950 barrels per day (bpd) from Saudi Arabia, up 4.8% from the previous month, while purchases from Russia declined to 855,950 bpd, according to the statistics.
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After reaching a record in June, India's monthly oil imports from Russia have been falling as Moscow has reduced the discounts granted for its oil and refiners have increased longer-term supply.
Over the first five months of the current fiscal year, from April to August, India's total imports of oil increased by nearly 16% to 757,000 bpd from 20,000 bpd, or a 0.5% share.
Despite Saudi Arabia's increase, India's proportion of OPEX oil fell to 59.8%, the lowest level in at least 16 years, as a result of a reduction in imports from Africa. The two nations are seen to be reducing the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow by securing raw resources at lower prices compared to supplies from other nations.
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For its military action in Ukraine, Moscow has not received public rebuke from New Delhi. On September 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a meeting with President Putin outside of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
India's purchases from Africa and other nations have suffered as a result of a rise in the consumption of Caspian sea oil, mostly from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Azerbaijan. The data showed that in August, Latin America's oil share decreased from roughly 7.7% to 5.3% while African oil's proportion decreased by half to 4.2%.
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While Kazakhstan overtook Kuwait to take over as India's fifth-largest oil supplier in August, the United States came in second and the United Arab Emirates remained in fourth place. Data showed that the Middle East's share in India increased from 54% in July to 59% in August as a result of increased imports of Saudi and Emirati oil while the share of CIS countries increased from 23% to almost a quarter.
(With agency inputs)
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