India plans 10-20% increase in Russian oil imports in September amid geopolitical tensions
According to recent reports from Reuters, the Indian government is planning to significantly boost its Russian crude oil imports as early as September, aiming to increase purchases by 10-20% compared to the previous month.
This would translate to an additional volume of approximately 150,000 to 300,000 barrels per day, marking an important step for Russia’s oil industry amid the fallout from recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.India’s state-owned and independent oil refineries are actively seeking ways to ramp up imports to meet the growing domestic demand.
In mid-September, the country intends not only to compensate for the loss of capacity at Russian oil facilities damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks — which have increased in recent days — but also to strengthen its position as one of the major global importers of Russian oil.Recent analytics indicate that Reliance and Nayara Energy remain the leading buyers of Russian origin crude, importing around 1.5 million barrels per day in August.
While these figures are consistent with July, they are slightly below the averages recorded in April-June, which reached about 1.6 million barrels daily.Importantly, Russian oil shipped by sea accounts for roughly 1.5% of total global supply, and India now covers about 40% of its oil needs through imports from Russia.
Besides India, China and Turkey are also significant buyers of Russian oil, highlighting the growing geopolitical influence of this resource in the global energy market amid ongoing instability and sanctions.