India’s import of crude oil from Russia rose to an 11-month high in June as refiners topped up tanks amid the Israel-Iran war, analysts said
India imported 2.08 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in June, the highest since July 2024, according to vessel tracking data from global commodity market analytics firm Kpler.
“While India’s global imports of crude oil dropped by 6 per cent in June, Russian volumes saw an 8 per cent month-on-month rise to their highest levels since July 2024,” European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said. “More than half of these imports from Russia were made by three refineries in India, which also export refined products to G7+ countries.”
India imports more than 85 per cent of its requirement of crude oil, which is turned into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries. Traditionally, the Middle East was the main source, but Russia has been the mainstay supplier for nearly three years now.
After much of the West shunned Russian crude following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia began offering steep discounts to attract buyers. Indian refiners seized the opportunity, turning Russia into India’s largest source of crude oil, overtaking traditional suppliers from West Asia.>
