The share of OPEC oil in India’s imports has hit an all-time low for the fiscal year 2024-25, primarily due to Indian refiners increasingly favoring the cheaper oil from Russia. For the third consecutive year, Russia has maintained its position as the largest oil supplier to India, as data from trade and industry sources indicates.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has capitalized on the discounted Russian oil following Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to the Ukraine conflict. In the fiscal year concluding in March 2025, India averaged oil imports of 4.88 million barrels per day (bpd), marking a 5% increase from the previous year.
Notably, Russian oil imports rose by 7.3%, reaching 1.76 million bpd, which raised its share to around 36%. Conversely, OPEC’s share saw a slight decline to 48.5%.
Although Russia collaborates with OPEC, it has significantly penetrated the markets of major Middle Eastern suppliers. The shifts in trade dynamics, influenced by geopolitical issues and higher costs from traditional suppliers, have prompted India to explore diverse sources of crude.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia remain the second and third largest sources of oil for India, respectively. However, imports from Saudi Arabia reached their lowest point in 14 years, while imports from Iraq fell to a four-year low, as reported by Reuters.
Indian refiners limited their purchases of Saudi oil due to elevated official selling prices set by state-owned Saudi Aramco throughout much of the year. The resulting decreased imports from both Iraq and Saudi Arabia have contributed to a decline in the proportion of Middle Eastern supplies in India’s overall crude imports.
In March alone, oil imports from Russia surged by approximately 11% from February, reaching 1.7 million bpd, while total oil imports for the month increased by 1.3%. The U.S. emerged as the fourth-largest supplier during this timeframe.