Saudi Arabia overtakes Russia to be India's Second Biggest Oil Supplier

• Image Credit: India Today

• Sep 15, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

India has replaced China as Russia's second-largest oil importer since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in late February. color:#252525">

color:#252525">Digital Desk: According to data from Industry and Trade sources,
after a three-month lull, Saudi Arabia surpassed Russia to become India's
second-largest oil supplier, while Iraq continued to hold the top rank in
August.

color:#252525">According to the numbers, India, the third-largest oil importer
and consumer in the world, bought 863,950 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from
Saudi Arabia, an increase of 4.8% from the previous month, while it bought
855,950 bpd less from Russia.

color:#252525">India's share of OPEX oil decreased to 59.8%, the lowest level
in at least 16 years, despite Saudi Arabia's growth due to a decline in imports
from Africa.

color:#252525">India has replaced China as Russia's second-largest oil importer
since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in late February.

color:#252525">By getting raw materials at lower costs than supply from other
countries, the two countries are thought to be lessening the effect of Western
sanctions on Moscow.

color:#252525">New Delhi has not publicly criticized Moscow for its
"special military action" in Ukraine. President Putin and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will meet separately on Friday at the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization summit.

color:#252525">India's monthly oil imports from Russia have been declining
since they hit a record in June as refiners have increased longer-term supply
and Moscow has cut the discounts offered for its oil.

color:#252525">According to Ehsan Ul Haq, an Analyst with Refinitiv, "Term
contract restrictions prevent you from cutting Saudi supplies in the end, and
increasing demand, notably in Asia, allowed Russia to drop its discounts."

color:#252525">According to the statistics, India's overall crude imports
dropped to a five-month low in August of 4.45 million bpd, down 4.1% from July,
as a result of maintenance at various refineries.

color:#252525">The increase in Caspian Sea oil consumption, which mostly
originates from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Azerbaijan, has had an impact on
India's purchases from Africa and other countries.

color:#252525">The research states that African oil's share dropped by half to
4.2%, while Latin America's oil's share dropped to 5.3% from roughly 7.7% in
August.

color:#252525">"India's diesel demand is lower during the monsoon season,
which means lower imports of West African oil," Mr. Haq said.

color:#252525">In August, Kazakhstan, which had replaced Kuwait as the
fourth-largest oil exporter to India, came in at number five, followed by the
United States. Fourth-placed United Arab Emirates remained.

color:#252525">The data revealed that due to increased purchases of Saudi and
Emirati oil, the Middle East's share in India grew to 59% in August from 54% in
July while that of the CIS countries increased to around 25% from 23%.

color:#252525">According to the data, India's total oil imports grew by over
16% to 757,000 bpd from 20,000 bpd, or a 0.5% share, throughout the first five
months of the current fiscal year, from April to August.

color:#252525">The data revealed that lifted the share of CIS countries in
India's April-August oil imports to about 20% from 2.9%, the data revealed.