“OPEC’s share of India’s crude oil imports rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, while the share of the largest supplier, Russia, remained unchanged.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
OPEC’s share of India’s crude oil imports rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, while the share of the largest supplier, Russia, remained unchanged. Reuters writes about it. Russia’s share of the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer is expected to decline in 2025 after Washington announced sweeping sanctions against Russian producers and tankers last Friday, disrupting supplies from the world’s No.2 producer to India and China and will limit access to ships. India imported 4.84 million barrels of oil per day in 2024, up 4.3% from the previous year.Advertisement: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) share of India’s oil imports in 2024 rose to nearly 51 .5% compared to 49.6% in 2023, while Russia’s share in 2024 remained at the level of about 36%. Indian refiners have increased purchases of Middle Eastern crude from late 2024 as supplies from Russia have declined. The share of Middle Eastern oil in India’s December oil imports rose to a 22-month high of about 52%.Advertisement: However, Russia remains India’s top oil supplier, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia in December. In recent years, Russia has become India’s main oil supplier as its refiners have taken interest in Russian oil, which has been sold at a discount after Western countries imposed price caps and refused to buy from Moscow. This has resulted in OPEC’s share of the Indian market falling to almost 50% in 2023 from 64.5% in 2022. We will remind: the Indian oil company “Indian Oil Corp” (IOC) announced a tender for two types of oil after the latest sanctions against the Russian Federation. Earlier, India announced its intention to abandon oil tankers that have been sanctioned by the United States for their role in transporting cargo for Russia, another example of the impact of Washington’s measures on the global oil market. The US Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control Office has imposed sanctions against the two largest oil companies of the Russian Federation, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, as well as ship insurance providers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrahovanie. According to the Financial Times, the measures include blacklisting 183 “shadow fleet” vessels involved in the export of energy resources from Russia.