US Crude Imports To India Surge In October, But Russia Remains Biggest Source Despite Tariff, Sanctions Cloud

India's crude oil imports from the United States has risen sharply, jumping to over a four-year high, even as Russia remains the top supplier to the country, according to the data released by maritime data and analytics provider Kpler on Monday.

Washington exported a total of 568,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to New Delhi in October, which is the highest since March 2021, as per the Kpler data sourced by news agency Informist. This amounted to 12% of India's overall oil imports.

Russia, meanwhile, remained the main source, accounting for 34% of India's crude basket with 1.62 million bpd supply in October.

This comes in the backdrop of 25% additional tariffs levied by the US on India for sourcing crude from Russia, and the recent US sanctions slapped on two of Moscow's biggest oil producers — Rosneft and Lukoil

According to Kpler, India is unlikely to completely halt crude oil imports from Russia. However, the country is expected to widen its crude basket, as domestic refiners are cautious of the US sanctions.

At present, Iraq is India's second-highest oil supplier. In October, the country shipped 826,000 bpd of oil to India, whereas Saudi Arabia is the third-biggest supplier, having shipped 669,000 bpd of crude to India during the month.

India's overall crude oil imports in October stood at 4.81 million bpd, up 3% on a month-on-month basis.

India's Ministry of External Affairs, while responding to a query on India's Russian oil imports, said last week that the country will be guided by the goal to "secure affordable energy".

"We are studying the implications of the recent U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies. Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market," the MEA spokesperson said on Thursday in a press briefing.

The ministry further clarified that India will focus on affordability by obtaining energy from diversified sources. "Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavor, we are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people," it added.