India’s Import Of Russian Oil Hits New High In May

India's rising imports of Russian oil hit a record high of about 1.95 million barrels per day (bpd) in May denting purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia fell, tanker data from trade and industry sources showed.

India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, buys more than 80 per cent of its oil from overseas markets.

Its refiners have been gorging on Russian oil since the West imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian oil accounted for about 40 per cent of India's crude imports in May, cutting imports from Iraq to a three-year low and from Saudi Arabia to their lowest since September 2021, an analysis of the data showed.

India imported 801,400 bpd of Iraqi oil in May, down about 13.7 per cent from April, while supply from Saudi fell 15 per cent to 616,100 bpd, the data show.

India's overall May oil imports rose marginally from April to 4.8 million bpd, the data showed.

Its imports from Russia are expected to remain high, as its landed price remains far cheaper than Middle East crude.

In April the landed price of a tonne of oil from Russia was about USD 500, equivalent to USD 68.21/barrel using a conversion factor of 7.33, while that from Iraq cost USD 570 and from Saudi Arabia was USD 637.40, according to the government data. Price details for May arrival cargoes have not yet been updated.

Due to higher purchases of discounted Russian oil, the share of imports from the Middle East - traditionally its top source - fell to an all-time low of about 39 per cent in May from 44 per cent in April, the data showed.

OPEC's share of India's oil imports in May fell to a record low of 42.6 per cent and averaged 44.3 per cent in the first two months of this fiscal year, the data showed.