India's Russian oil imports hit record high in February; now more than Iraq, Saudi put together

Russia now accounts for more than the combined oil bought from Iraq and Saudi Arabia — India's mainstay oil suppliers for decades.

India's imports of crude oil from Russia soared to a record 1.6 million barrels per day in February and is now higher than combined imports from traditional suppliers Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into petrol and diesel at refineries, for a fifth straight month by supplying more than one-third of all oil India imported, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

Refiners continue to snap up plentiful Russian cargoes available at a discount to other grades.

From a market share of less than 1% in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 1.62 million barrels per day in February, taking a 35% share.

India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been snapping Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

The rise in Russian imports have been at the expense of Saudi Arabia and United States. Oil import from Saudi fell 16% month-on-month and that from the U.S. declined 38%.

According to Vortexa, Russia now accounts for more than the combined oil bought from Iraq and Saudi Arabia — India's mainstay oil suppliers for decades.