India’s crude oil imports from Russia fell by 55 percent to the lowest level in two and a half years.

New Delhi: India’s crude oil imports from Russia fell in November to the lowest level since June 2022. This information has been received from the monthly report of the European Research Institute. However, despite this, Russia is still the largest source of crude oil for India.

India became the second largest buyer of Russian crude oil after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022. India’s purchase of crude oil from Russia was less than one percent, which has increased to 40 percent. This increase occurred primarily because Russian crude oil was available at a discount. It was available at a lower price than other crude oils available internationally due to price caps and European countries refraining from buying crude oil from Russia.

The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air said in its latest report that India’s imports of Russian crude oil fell by a massive 55 percent in November. This is the lowest figure after June 2022. However, Russia is still the largest supplier of crude oil to India. Russia is followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Without giving specific figures, the Center for Research on Energy said China bought 47 percent of Russia’s crude exports. It is followed by India (37 percent), European Union (six percent) and Türkiye (six percent). The discount to Brent crude from Russia’s Ural grade crude rose 17 percent month-on-month in November to an average of $6.01 a barrel.

Including all fossil fuels, India moved to third place in the list of largest buyers of Russian fossil fuels in November. Among the top five importers, India’s contribution to Russia’s monthly revenues was 17 per cent.