India’s Russian Oil imports Surpass US, Saudi, UAE and Iraq Combined

The oil markets saw a major threshold passed this week, as India imported a record 1.96 million barrels a day of discounted Russian oil during the month of May – more than combined oil purchases from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and US, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

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