Russia overtakes Iraq as India's top oil supplier

Shafaq News/ India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry data showed on Wednesday that Iraq slipped to second place after Russia in the oil exports to India in December 2023 by a narrow margin.

India is the third-largest oil consumer in the world and the second-largest importer in Asia.

According to the Indian official data, Russia remained India's top supplier with 1.43 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from 1.34 million bpd in December, while Iraq followed with 1.34 million bpd, up from 1.10 million bpd in December.

Russian crude oil became cheaper than Iraqi oil in early 2022 when the invasion of Ukraine discouraged some buyers from purchasing Russian oil.

The average cost of Russian crude oil dropped to $77.82 per barrel, compared to $79.34 per barrel for the Iraqi shipments. However, the prices of both shipments have become more similar since mid-last year.

Notably, the oil imported from Saudi Arabia, the third largest supplier to India, is the most expensive among these countries. The average price of crude oil from Saudi Arabia was $87.19 per barrel in the South Asian country in December 2023.

Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as the top oil supplier to India a few years ago. Now, cheaper supply from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine has pushed it to the top spot, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, noting that India is now buying from 37 countries.