Saudi overtakes Russia as India’s biggest crude supplier in February following US-India trade developments

In February, Saudi Arabia became India’s main source of crude oil, moving ahead of Russia. This change happened because of shifts in global trade, the growing relationship between the U.S. and India, and India’s goal to get its energy from many different countries.

India’s largest crude oil supplier has changed from Russia to Saudi Arabia as per the initial data for February: Saudi Arabia shipped 1.13 million barrels per day (bpd) to India in the first 10 days of February, versus Russia’s 1.09 million bpd.

This could be the earliest indicator of change as per analysts. India received the highest volume of crude oil from Russia at 1.14 million bpd in January. Oil imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia followed Russia, according to data from Kpler.

It can be noted that Russia and Saudi Arabia have been competing for the top spot in recent months. Saudi Arabia has become the largest supplier thanks to strong appetite from Indian buyers and competitive prices.

Russia Tussle With Saudi Arabia For India’s Oil Crown

February data also indicates that India may reduce crude oil imports from Russia in the long run as India and the US are working on an interim trade deal.

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As India-US economic ties expand and strengthen, oil imports from Russia may reduce gradually. But don’t expect a sudden cut in Russian oil imports as discounted barrels from Russia are quite enticing to refiners for now.

India welcomes changes to US tariffs on its exports

Although India claims that changes in crude oil imports will depend on the buyer and what suits the economy the best. On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that India will see a rollback in tariffs from 50% to 18%. Biden and India signed a trade deal last month which is interim and will come into effect from April.

India may cut Russian oil imports: What US hopes

India continues to get Russian oil. The United States had sanctioned India’s oil refinery, after it purchased oil from Russia. Industry analysts feel that Indian refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia in the short term as per term deals that are already in place.

Russia ships record amounts of oil to China

India’s top refiners are still signing deals with Russia as they have indicated that their crude buying decisions are decided by a commercial entity which looks for the best-priced crude for India.

Indian refiners are buying oil from Venezuela and West Africa.

Russia is sending increasing volumes of crude oil to China. China bought 970.39kbpd of Russian crude in January which is a record high. Russia’s increasing focus on China will likely impact its exports to India.

India is now focussing on other countries for its oil imports. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Venezuela and Angola are some of the countries India is procuring crude oil from as per V Gireesan, chairman of Indian Oil Association (IOA).

Also read: Russian Foreign Minister provides big update on India-US trade deal, rejects claims that India will stop buying Russian oil, details inside

India is replacing Russian oil with supplies from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Angola

In addition to this, US President Joe Biden has also issued new licences that will allow Indian companies to buy Venezuelan crude oil without any restrictions.

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The Times Of Bengal