India's Crude Oil Imports From Russia Jump To New High As Buying Limit Nears

India emerged as a key buyer of Russian oil after Ukraine war, but the nation’s buying could be near its limit due to infrastructure issues and the need to maintain good relations with other suppliers

Indian Oil Corp. has been the biggest buyer of Russian crude over the past two months, followed by Reliance Industries Ltd., according to Kpler.

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India’s imports of Russian crude oil hit another record last month as New Delhi potentially nears the limit of its buying splurge from the major OPEC+ producer, reported by Bloomberg. Daily volumes climbed to 2.2 million barrels a day in June, rising for a 10th month, according to Viktor Katona, the head of crude analysis at Kpler.

According to the Bloomberg report, Russian purchases again exceeded the combined shipments of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, data from the analytics firm show.

India emerged as a key consumer of Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine, but the nation’s buying could be near its limit due to infrastructure issues and the need to maintain good relations with other suppliers. Kpler said imports may dip next month because of lower Russian supply.

State-run Indian Oil Corp. has been the biggest buyer of Russian crude over the past two months, followed by Reliance Industries Ltd., according to Kpler. Overall, India’s imports of Urals hit another record of 1.5 million barrels a day in June, the analytics firm said.

Oil refiners have been focusing on Russian oil since the West imposed sanctions over 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

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

Since the war, Russia has been selling huge amounts of crude oil to India to manage its energy exports after the European Union banned imports in December last year.