India’s oil imports from Russia soar despite end of US waiver

Refiners accounted for 2.7 million bpd in June, a leap of 0.57 million from May

India’s oil imports from Russia hit record levels in June, despite a sanctions waiver from the US ending halfway through the month.

Local refiners imported about 2.70 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in the month, preliminary data from Kpler and LSEG showed.

This is a steep rise from the 2.13 million bpd oil imports a month ago.

The data showed that Russian oil imports also accounted for more than half ⁠of India’s overall inbound shipments, up from 36.5% in May.

According to a Kpler report on June 22, India’s oil imports were pegged at an average of 2.66 million bpd up to June 19.

The report projected that India’s June imports were likely to top 2.35 million bpd, driven by competitive discounts and rising demand.

The US sanctions waiver ended on June 17.

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India is the world’s third-largest energy importer. New Delhi diversified its crude basket after its crude, LNG, and LPG imports from the Gulf region were disrupted by the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Nearly a fifth of global energy shipments were routed through the strait before the US-Israeli war against Iran, sending oil prices soaring.

India’s oil imports from Russia have steadily increased from 2022-23, when refiners tapped discounted crude after some European ‌customers shunned purchases from Moscow following the Ukraine conflict.