December 2022 saw a new milestone in Russia-India trade – over one million barrels per day (bpd) were imported during that month, marking the first time ever that number has been reached.
Data from energy intelligence firm Vortexa shows that India received 1.19 million bpd of Russian oil in December, breaking the previous record of 942,694 in June of the same year. This new high cements Russia’s place as India’s top oil supplier for the third month in a row.
The increase is so large that Russia has gone from providing just 0.2% of India oil imports in March 2022 to a full 25%, surpassing Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India’s number one supply of oil.
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Earlier, India imported the most crude oil from Russia in June 2022. About 25 percent of India’s oil imports come from Russia. Crude oil exports to India hit record highs after EU and US imposed price controls on Russian seaborne oil. India is the third largest oil consuming and importing country in the world. India imports 85% of its crude oil.
In December, India imported 803,228 bpd of oil from Iraq and 718,357 bpd from Saudi Arabia, Vortexa said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become India’s fourth largest oil supplier, surpassing the US by selling 323,811 bpd of oil in December 2022.
Western countries banned Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. With this, Russia reduced oil prices. India’s love for Russian oil has grown ever since it started trading at a discount. Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, oil was imported from Middle Eastern countries.
According to Vortexa, India imported 36,255 barrels of crude oil per day from Russia in December 2021, 1.05 million bpd from Iraq and 9,52,625 bpd from Saudi Arabia.
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