By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s oil imports from Russia rose marginally in the first half of this year, with private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy making almost half of the overall purchases from Moscow, according to data provided by sources.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, received about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil in January-June this year, up 1% from a year ago, the data showed.
The two private refiners have term deals to buy Russian oil, while state companies rely on purchases from the spot market.
India’s purchases of Russian oil sold at discounted rates surged after Western nations imposed sanctions and stopped buying oil from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agrees a peace deal within 50 days.
Indian refiners expect that any move by Trump is unlikely to disrupt oil supplies but could wipe out the thinning discount on Russian crude, as traditional and new suppliers ramp up output, refinery officials told Reuters.
In January-June, Russia continued to be the top supplier to India, accounting for about 35% of India’s overall supplies, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
The United States was the fifth-largest oil supplier to India, up from the sixth position it held a year earlier, the data showed.
India plans to raise energy imports from the U.S. as it prepares for a trade deal with Washington to avoid stiff U.S. import tariffs.
Overall, India’s oil imports in January-June rose by 4.3% to about 5.2 million bpd, the data showed.
In June, India’s Russian oil imports rose 17.4% to about 2 million bpd from the previous month, dragging down the share of Middle Eastern producers and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
(Reporting by Nidhi VermaEditing by Mark Potter)
