New Delhi, June 23: Despite the stock market volatility caused by Israel's attack on Iran, India increased its purchases of Russian oil in June, importing more than the total from Middle Eastern suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The US military attacked three sites in Iran, with Israel supporting it by first striking Iranian nuclear sites on June 13.
Indian refiners are likely to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June. The highest in the last two years and more than the combined volume bought from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, preliminary data from global trade analytics firm Kepler showed.
India's oil imports from Russia in May were 1.96 million barrels per day (bpd). Imports from the United States also rose to 439,000 bpd in June, a big jump from the 280,000 bpd purchased the previous month.
Full-month imports from the Middle East are estimated at about 2 million barrels per day, down from the previous month’s purchases, Kepler said.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, bought about 5.1 million barrels of crude oil from abroad, which is converted into fuels such as petrol and diesel at refineries.
India, which traditionally sources its oil from the Middle East, began importing large quantities of oil from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The conflict in the Middle East has so far not affected oil supplies. While supplies have not been affected so far, there is a potential for a drop in crude oil shipments from the Middle East in the coming days, Sumit Ritolia, principal research analyst, refining and modelling at Kepler, told PTI.
The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran to the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south, serves as a major route for oil exports from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE.
India imports about 40 per cent of all its oil and half of its gas through the narrow strait.