Russia Remains Biggest Oil Supplier To India For Second Month In A Row In November

From just 0.2 per cent of India’s total oil imports in the year that ended on March 31, 2022, Russian oil now makes up for more than a fifth of India's oil supplies.

Russia has remained the top oil supplier to India for the second consecutive month, surpassing traditional oil suppliers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, reported PTI. Russia supplied 9,09,403 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to India in November, the report said citing data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

From just 0.2 per cent of India’s total oil imports in the year that ended on March 31, 2022, Russian oil now makes up for more than a fifth of India's oil supplies. Although the report added that in November, India imported lower volumes of Russian oil compared to October. 

From Iraq, India imported 8,61,461 bpd of oil in November, and from Saudi Arabia, 5,70,922 bpd, according to Vortexa data. The United States was India's fourth largest supplier with 4,05,525 bpd of oil shipments. 

Russian Oil supplies to India have sharply increased since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India imported just 36,255 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in December 2021, compared to 1.05 million bpd from Iraq and 9,52,625 bpd from Saudi Arabia, as per Vortexa. 

Russia became India's second-biggest supplier in June this year. In October, India imported a record 9,35,556 bpd of Russian oil surpassing Iraq. 

India has persistently defended its oil purchase from Russia. On December 7, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha that India will continue to look for the best deals in the interest of the country. He said, “we do not ask our companies to buy Russian oil. We ask our companies to buy oil (based on) what is the best option that they can get. Now, it depends on what the market throws up." 

“Please do understand it's not just we buy oil from one country. We buy oil from multiple sources, but it is a sensible policy to go where we get the best deal in the interests of the Indian people, and that is exactly what we are trying to do,” he added.

The European Union has now put a price cap on Russian seaborne oil. The imports in November were made ahead of a price cap agreed by the EU. Price of  $60 a barrel is part of the West's strategy to suppress Russia's oil revenues and in turn, limit its ability to wage war in Ukraine.