According to data reported by Vortexa, an energy cargo tracker, Russia became one of the leading suppliers of oil in India for October, outreaching the traditional sellers, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

As per sources, Russia, which made up for merely 0.2 per cent of all oil traded by India in the FY ending on March 31, 2022, has supplied 935,556 BPD (barrels per day) of crude oil in October, which is apparently the highest ever.

This new record makes up 22% of India’s total crude imports from Russia, surpassing Iraq’s 20.5% and Saudi Arabia’s 16%.

It is important to mention that the appetite of India for Russian oil intensified since it began trading at a discount as the West evaded it to penalize Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Energy intelligence firm, Vortexa, also claims that India imported 36,255 BPD of crude oil in December 2021 from Russia, as opposed to 1.05 million BPD imported from Iraq and the import of 952,625 BPD from Saudi Arabia.

Though in the following two months no imports were made from Russia, they were resumed in March following the Ukraine war that broke out in late February.

In March, India imported 68,600 BPD of Russian oil, which jumped to 266,617 BPD in April and peaked at 942,694 BPD in June.

Although Iraq was India’s top supplier in June with 1.04 million BPD of oil, Russia became the second biggest supplier of India.

Apparently, in the following two months, imports dropped marginally. In September, they stood at 876,396 BPD before rising to 835,556 BPD in October, according to Vortexa.

Sources further reveal that Iraq now stands at the number 2 slot with 888,079 BPD supplies in October, followed by Saudi Arabia’s 746,947 BPD.

For the record, the Indian government has been firmly guarding its trade with Russia, stating that it will source oil from where it is cheapest.

Source credit - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/russia-becomes-indias-top-oil-supplier-in-october/articleshow/95335997.cms