NEW DELHI: Opec’s share in India’s oil imports fell to 46% in April 2023 from 72% in the year-ago period as refiners increased the number of discounted Russian shipments, underlining the shift in global energy flow triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
India’s Russian oil imports are more than the combined shipments from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the largest suppliers in the last decade when Opec accounted for 90% of total crude bought by refiners. Russian oil’s share spiked from less than 1% before the Ukraine conflict, as refiners lapped up heavily discounted barrels shunnedby the West in retaliation to Moscow’s military move.
According to shipping market trackers, Russia has remained India’s largest oil supplier for seventh straight month in April.
