In January, India experienced a second consecutive decrease in crude oil imports from its primary supplier, Russia, marking the lowest intake in a year due to intensified Western sanctions affecting the supply of the light Sokol grade, as indicated by preliminary ship tracking data. As a result, India, ranked third globally in oil imports and consumption, heightened its imports of Iraqi oil to compensate for the decline in Russian imports, according to the data.
The figures from LSEG data revealed a 4.2% decline in imports from Russia to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd). Meanwhile, data from Vortexa, a ship tracking agency, depicted a steeper decrease of 9% to 1.2 million bpd. It’s anticipated that India’s imports of Russian crude may dwindle further in the ensuing months.
As reported by Reuters, last year, India emerged as a significant purchaser of sea-borne Russian oil, procured at discounted rates after Western nation’s suspended imports in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. As per data from LSEG, India is set to receive a minimum of five shipments of Sokol crude in February, marking a contrast from the absence of deliveries in January.
