China is now the top buyer of Russian oil, 18 percent cut by India

Russian oil imports fell 18.3 percent last month as some Indian refineries cut back on crude oil processing. Due to this, India imported 1.7 million barrels of oil per day from Russia in that month. But on the contrary, China has increased its oil imports from Russia.

According to a Reuters report, India emerged as the largest buyer of Russian oil last July after significantly increasing its crude oil imports from Russia. However, in August China increased its oil imports from Russia, making Beijing the largest buyer of Russian oil again. This estimate is based on oil tanker data.

In August, 36 percent of India's oil imports came from Russia. For the previous five months, the country's oil imports from Russia were increasing. Russian oil accounted for 44 percent of India's oil imports in July. However, Russia remains India's single largest source of oil imports despite a decline in Russian oil imports in August. It is followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

India is the world's third largest oil importer. India's position is third in terms of consumption. The country imported 4.7 million barrels of oil in August. Analyzing the data, India's oil imports fell by 1 percent in August compared to July.

India imported the lowest amount of oil from Saudi Arabia in August since July 2023. Its amount was 4 lakh 98 thousand 200 barrels per day.

Chennai Petroleum has an oil refining capacity of 210,000 barrels per day in South India. The company has shut down some units at this refinery. Bharat Petroleum, on the other hand, has shut down some units to carry out repairs at its Bina refinery located in central India. As a result, the opportunity to process oil in that refinery has decreased.

Indian refineries are buying large quantities of Russian oil due to lower prices. Many Western countries have imposed various sanctions on Moscow after Russia's attack on Ukraine. In addition, these countries have drastically reduced their oil purchases from Russia.

According to data obtained by Reuters, Indian refineries bought 138,000 barrels per day from Canada and 254,000 barrels per day from the United States last month. However, India's fuel purchases from OPEC countries rose to a four-month high after Russia cut its oil purchases in August. Among the OPEC countries, India's oil purchases from Iraq have increased the most.