India’s Russian oil imports hit record high in January: Report

India’s Russian oil imports climbed to a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2 percent from December, Moscow still the top monthly oil seller to New Delhi, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, business Data from sources shown. ,

Last month, Russian oil accounted for about 27 per cent of the 5 million bpd crude imported by India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, the data showed.

India’s oil imports typically rise in December and January as state-run refiners avoid maintenance shutdowns in the first quarter to meet their annual production targets set by the government.

Refiners in India, which rarely buy Russian oil because of expensive logistics, have emerged as Russia’s major oil customer after the invasion of Ukraine last February stripped it of subsidized crude by Western nations.

India’s imports of Russian Sokol crude last month hit an all-time high at 100,900 bpd, as production from the Sakhalin 1 field resumed under a new Russian operator, data showed.

In January, India’s oil imports from Canada rose to 314,000 bpd as Reliance Industries boosted long-distance crude purchases, data showed.

Canada emerged as the fifth largest supplier India After the United Arab Emirates in January, the data showed.

India’s Iraqi oil imports reached a seven-month high of 983,000 bpd in January, up 11 per cent from December.

During April-January, the first ten months of this fiscal year, Iraq remained the largest oil supplier to India, while Russia became the second largest supplier replacing Saudi Arabia, which is now at the third position.

Data showed that higher purchases of Russian oil dragged Indian imports from the Middle East to an all-time low of 48 per cent, the lowest ever among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member countries.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)