In May, India’s imports of Russian oil reached a record high

Industry data showed that India’s acquisition of inexpensive Russian oil set a new high in May and has since surpassed its total purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa shows that India imported 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May, 15% more than the previous high in April.

Currently, roughly 42% of the crude oil that India imported in May comes from Russia. The percentage is the greatest for a single nation in recent years.

Russian market share increased at the expense of dependable Middle Eastern suppliers. The lowest level of shipments from Saudi Arabia since February 2021 was 560,000 tonnes, according to data from the shipping analytics firm.

The proportion of the oil-producing cartel OPEC in India’s oil imports hit a record low of 39% in May.

Up to 90% of the crude oil that India imported at one point came from Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), primarily in the Middle East and Africa, but this percentage has been declining ever since Russian oil became more affordable following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year.

Russia remained the only largest crude oil supplier for the ninth consecutive month, accounting for 42% of all the oil that India imported.