India’s crude oil sourcing strategy has shown a clear shift toward lower-risk and more execution-reliable supply, with the Middle Eastern barrels gaining share as Russian crude flows remain present but increasingly selective and compliance-driven.
Import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler.
India, which is almost 90 per cent dependent on imports to meet its needs for crude oil – the raw material which is turned into fuels such as petrol and diesel in refineries, is again leaning on its traditional suppliers in the Middle-East.
Iraq is now supplying almost the same volumes as Russia, up from an average of 9,04,000 bpd in December 2025, according to Kpler data. Volumes from Saudi Arabia too have risen to 9,24,000 bpd this month, from 7,10,000 bpd in December and​India’s crude oil sourcing strategy has shown a clear shift toward lower-risk and more execution-reliable supply, with the Middle Eastern barrels gaining share as Russian crude flows remain present but increasingly selective and compliance-driven.
Import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler.
India, which is almost 90 per cent dependent on imports to meet its needs for crude oil – the raw material which is turned into fuels such as petrol and diesel in refineries, is again leaning on its traditional suppliers in the Middle-East.
Iraq is now supplying almost the same volumes as Russia, up from an average of 9,04,000 bpd in December 2025, according to Kpler data. Volumes from Saudi Arabia too have risen to 9,24,000 bpd this month, from 7,10,000 bpd in December and ​Latest News [ SOBAN NEWS: International and National ]
