Key facts
- Russia's share of India's total oil imports reached a record 50.83% in July.
- Daily crude oil exports from Russia to India averaged 2.47 million barrels in July.
- This represents a 62.4% increase in Russian oil exports to India compared to a year ago.
- The UAE and Saudi Arabia were India's next largest suppliers, with significantly lower volumes.
Russia has captured a record share of India's oil market, with imports from Russia accounting for over 50% of the country's total import volumes last month. This marks the highest proportion of Russian oil in India's import mix, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed trade sources.
Russia exported approximately 2.47 million barrels of crude oil daily to India in July, a 62.4% surge from the previous year. This volume represented a 50.83% share of total oil imports for the world's third-largest oil consumer. However, July's daily average was a slight decrease from June's figure of 2.6 million barrels per day, which was the highest monthly average for Russian oil shipments to India.
Data from Kpler indicated that Russian oil flows to India averaged 2.45 million barrels daily in July, even after the expiration of a U.S. sanction waiver on these flows. Russia maintained its position as India's largest oil supplier, followed by the United Arab Emirates (617,000 barrels daily) and Saudi Arabia (586,000 barrels daily).
Since the beginning of India's new fiscal year on April 1, Russian oil has been flowing at all-time high rates, averaging over 2 million barrels daily and constituting more than 42% of India's total oil imports during this period. This is an increase from the 37% share Russian oil held a year earlier.
Reuters noted that this trend could change following the latest U.S. sanctions, which include imposing 100% tariffs on imports from countries that purchase Russian crude. The bill has passed the Senate and awaits House of Representatives approval. Choking India's oil imports from Russia could prove challenging, especially with the ongoing war in the Middle East limiting alternative sources for the volumes required by Indian refiners, even with record U.S. exports.