New Delhi: Amid tensions in West Asia, especially the Israel-Iran conflict, India’s import of crude oil from Russia rose to an 11-month high in June as refiners topped up tanks. According to data from Kpler, a global commodity tracking firm, India imported 2.08 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude last month, the highest since July 2024.
India has purchased over 80 per cent of Russia’s seaborne Urals crude exports so far in 2025, with Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy accounting for 45 per cent of total shipments, the Kpler latest data said.
“While India’s global imports of crude oil dropped by 6 per cent in June, Russian volumes saw an 8 per cent month-on-month rise to their highest levels since July 2024,” European think-tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said, adding that more than half of these imports from Russia were made by three refineries in India, which also export refined products to G7+ countries.
India imports crude oil for its requirement, which is turned into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries. Traditionally, the Middle East was the main source, but Russia has been the mainstay supplier for nearly three years now. In June, India imported approximately 8,93,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iraq – its second-largest supplier – marking a 17.2 per cent month-on-month decline.
However, Saudi Arabia followed with 5,81,000 bpd (largely unchanged from May), while imports from the UAE rose 6.5 per cent to 4,90,000 bpd. After much of the West shunned Russian crude following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia began offering steep discounts to attract alternative buyers.
As per Kpler estimates, Iraq accounted for 18.5 per cent of India’s oil imports, followed by Saudi Arabia at 12.1 per cent and the UAE at 10.2 per cent. “The US remained India’s fifth-largest crude supplier, with import volumes of approximately 3,03,000 bpd and a 6.3 per cent market share,” it said.