Russia has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become India’s second-largest oil supplier, as refiners buy up Russian crude oil offered at a great discount following the conflict in Ukraine, according to international media outlets on Tuesday.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the world’s third largest oil importer India has taken a firm stance on its insistence on buying Russian oil despite the EU ban as Russia is selling its oil with almost 30% discount.
According to a detailed tracker of Russian oil, gas and coal shipments and pipeline exports by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India became a significant importer of Russian crude oil, buying 18% of the country’s exports.
Indian refineries have become key importers of Russian crude oil, with India accounting for a growing share of Russia’s overall crude exports. It increased from roughly 1% prior to the invasion to 18% in May.
The largest buyer is the Jamnagar refinery, which got 27% of its oil from Russia in May, up from less than 5% before April. Arrivals from Russia have mainly replaced arrivals from other sources, but there is also an uptick in crude intake since the start of April when the arrivals from Russia started to rise sharply.
A significant share of the Indian crude is re-exported as refined oil products, including to the US and Europe, an important loophole to close.
Iraq remained the top supplier to India in May and Saudi Arabia is now the third biggest supplier.
