US 5th-largest crude oil supplier to India amid global turmoil

New Delhi, January 15

Though India is seeing an exponential growth in share of Russian crude oil purchase, a persistent American bureaucracy has ensured that the US became India’s fifth-largest oil supplier in the fourth quarter of 2022, displacing Kuwait.

India is aiming to pursue an oil import policy that will witness robust inflows from both the US and Russia in the foreseeable future, while stepping up efforts to diversify the crude basket even further, says a report by S&P.

Diversifying sources

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• India increased crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22
• India diversifying its Russian crude oil basket by importing Arctic-grade Varandey Blend
• India continued to buy crude from US to diversify supply sources, said an S&P official

Although the Russia-Ukraine war has given an opportunity to Indian refiners to bring in huge volumes of crude oil at discounted rates, the market share of the US has remained steady.

Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, over 60 per cent of the Indian crude basket was sourced from West Asia. The rest comprised 14 per cent from North America, 12 per cent from West Africa, five per cent from Latin America and two per cent from Russia.

India has increased the number of crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22 adding countries such as Columbia, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.