India continues to boost imports of Russian crude oil as Russia continues to be the single largest crude supplier to the world’s third-biggest oil importer.
Indian imports of Russian crude jumped by 11.7% in September compared to August, according to tanker data from industry sources reported by Reuters.
India imported last month about 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Russia—which accounted for around two-fifths of India’s total September crude oil imports of about 4.7 million bpd, the data showed.
Total Indian imports of crude were only slightly higher in September compared to August, due to weaker seasonal demand in the monsoon season. But imports increased by 8.5% compared to September 2023, according to the data obtained by Reuters.
Between April and September, the first six months of India’s fiscal year to March 2025, India’s imports of Russian crude oil went up by 9.1% to 1.91 million bpd, per the data.
Russia continues to be India’s top oil supplier, ahead of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Russia’s lead over Iraq is more than double, as India imported about 867,600 bpd of crude from Iraq last month.
India will not change its energy policy to buy oil and gas at the lowest possible price and will continue to purchase cheaper Russian crude supply, Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters last month.
“If an entity is not under sanctions, there is no question I will buy from the cheapest supplier,” the minister said.
The world’s third-largest crude oil importer, India, relies on imports to cover more than 85% of its petroleum consumption, which is growing in lockstep with economy and refinery expansion plans.
Over the past two years, India has become a key buyer of Russia’s oil, while the attractiveness of cheaper crude supply has made Russia the single biggest supplier of oil to India.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
