India’s crude oil imports from Russia have jumped over 50 times since April and now make up 10 percent of all crude bought from overseas.
Last month, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become India’s second-biggest supplier of oil behind Iraq as refiners snapped up Russian crude available at a deep discount following the war in Ukraine.
Indian refiners bought about 25 million barrels of Russian oil in May.
Russian-origin crude accounted for 10 percent of India’s total seaborne imports in April for the first time, rising from 0.2 percent throughout 2021 and Q1 2022.
India, the world’s third-biggest oil-importing and consuming nation, has long defended purchases of crude oil from Russia following President Vladimir Putin ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia oil now makes up 10 percent of India’s oil import basket in April. It is now among the top 10 suppliers,”