India's import of Russian oil scales new high in May

India’s import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the U.S., industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia, 15% more than the previous according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

India's import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record in May, 2023 and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the U.S., industry data showed.

India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May 2023, 15% more than the previous high in April, 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

Russia now makes up for nearly 42% of all crude oil India imported in May, 2023. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years.

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The rise in Russian share came at the cost of traditional suppliers in the Middle East. Shipments from Saudi Arabia slipped to 560,000 tonnes — the lowest since February 2021, according to figures from the shipping analytics company.

Oil producers cartel OPEC's share in India's oil imports fell to an all-time low of 39% in May, 2023.

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly in the Middle East and Africa, made up for as much as 90% of all crude oil India imported at one point of time, but this has been sliding since Russian oil became available at a discount in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.