The Economic Times quoted a senior government official as saying that India’s crude oil imports from Russia have increased 50-fold since April and now account for 1/10 of India’s crude oil imports.
The report noted that about 40 percent of Russia’s crude oil imports go to private refineries.
Earlier this month, data showed that in the first quarter of this year alone, India’s crude oil imports from Russia increased fivefold from last year. Also this month, media reports said some of India’s biggest refiners were seeking a six-month supply deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft as economic sanctions on Russia cut sales to Western buyers.
Energy Intelligence reported this week that European buyers are importing more oil products from Russia than in 2021. But in fact, the flow of crude oil from Russia to Europe is lower than it was a year ago.
Meanwhile, India and China have become the biggest alternative routes for Russian crude. In May, Russia became India’s second-largest oil supplier. Last month, Russia also became China’s largest oil supplier.
Russian oil is cheap for India and China because it sells well below international benchmarks, even for the budgets of developed countries, at a time when oil prices are becoming a serious problem.