Saudi Arabia overtakes Russia to be India’s No. 2 oil supplier in August

Saudi Arabia emerged as the second-biggest oil supplier to India after a three-month gap, overtaking Russia by a thin margin, while Iraq retained the top spot in August, data from industry and trade sources showed.

India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, shipped in 863,950 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Saudi Arabia, up 4.8% from the previous month, while purchases from Russia fell 2.4% to 855,950 bpd, the data showed.

Despite Saudi’s gain, the share of oil from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in India fell to 59.8%, the lowest in at least 16 years as India cut African imports.

India has become Russia’s No. 2 oil buyer after China as others have cut purchases following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

The two countries, keen to secure raw materials at discounts compared with supplies from other countries, are seen as cushioning the impact of western sanctions on Moscow.

New Delhi has not publicly condemned Moscow for its ‘special military action’ in Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet President Putin on Friday on the sideling of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security bloc.

India’s monthly oil imports from Russia have been declining after hitting a record in June as Moscow has narrowed the discounts offered for its oil while refiners lifted more term supplies.

“In the end you cannot cut Saudi supplies because of clauses in term contracts and Russia was able to reduce its discounts because of high demand especially in Asia,” said Ehsan Ul Haq, an analyst with Refinitiv.