OPEC’s share of Indian oil imports falls to lowest in at least 15 yrs

OPEC’s share of Indian oil imports fell in 2021 to the lowest in more than a decade despite a 4 per cent rebound in annual crude purchases by the world’s third biggest oil importer, data obtained from industry sources showed.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly from the Middle East and Africa, saw their share of the pie in India shrinking to 70 per cent in 2021, from a peak of 87 per cent in 2008, a Reuters analysis of the data from 2007 to 2021 showed.

India’s crude imports rebounded 3.9 per cent to 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, the data showed, but remained below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.