Russian oil set to regain top spot in India after February dip

NEW DELHI: Iraq overtook Russia as India’s biggest oil supplier in February, shipping data showed on Friday, though some analysts expected Moscow to claw back the pole position this month after the United States waived sanctions on Russian supply amid the Middle East conflict.

Indian refiners began reducing Russian oil intake from December, with imports in February falling 32% year-on-year to about 1 million barrels per day, nearly half last June’s peak level.

The sustained reduction in Russian oil imports helped New Delhi secure an interim trade deal with Washington, while increasing dependence on Middle Eastern crude.

Russian barrels remain central

In February, India’s oil imports from Iraq rose to two-year highs of 1.18 million bpd, while purchases from Saudi Arabia climbed to about 998,000 bpd, the highest since December 2021, the data obtained from sources showed.

The share of the Middle East in India’s overall oil imports rose to nearly 59%, the highest since August 2022.

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However, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer is again bingeing on Russian oil after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran broke out on February 28, halting shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

India’s Russian oil imports in February were 32% lower than a year ago and 1.7% below January levels, the data showed.

But they have since rebounded to around 1.8 million bpd and could reach 2 million to 2.2 million bpd in March, according to Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at ship tracking firm Kpler.

“Russian barrels remain central to India’s crude import strategy,” he said.

Government officials said India’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil has declined significantly amid the supply disruption, with around 70% of its supplies now coming from other sources.

According to February data, India also sharply increased imports of Brazilian oil, with the South American nation emerging as the fourth-biggest supplier to India after the United Arab Emirates.