Russia Oil Import: India is importing a large amount of crude oil from Russia, so the import of Russian oil in India has reached a record high level of about 1.95 million barrels per day during May. At the same time, purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia decreased. In addition, India is now the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer. India buys more than 80 per cent of its oil from foreign markets.
Due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, oil refiners focus more on Russian oil. According to a Reuters report, Russian oil accounted for nearly 40 per cent of India’s crude imports in May, bringing imports from Iraq to a three-year low and Saudi Arabia to the lowest level since September 2021.
How Much Oil Supply Decreased From Iraq and Saudi
The report also said India imported 801400 BPD Iraqi oil in May, about 13.7 per cent less than in April. At the same time, the supply from Saudi has fallen by 15 per cent to 616,100 BPD. Looking at the figures, India’s overall May oil imports increased marginally from April to 4.8 million BPD. Import of oil from Russia is expected to remain high in future as well. This is because its access cost is meagre compared to other countries.
According to Reuters, the share of imports from the Middle East decreased from 44 per cent in April to 39 per cent during May due to higher purchases of subsidized Russian oil. OPEC’s share of India’s oil imports fell to a record low of 42.6 per cent in May and averaged 44.3 per cent in the first two months of this fiscal year.
2.5 Million Metric Tonnes Of Crude Oil Production In May
According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, India is expected to produce 2.5 MMT of crude oil in May 2023, as against 2.6 MMT in the year-ago period. At the same time, crude oil imports increased by 22 per cent and decreased by 3.1 per cent during May 2023 and April-May 2023, respectively, compared to last year.
