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India's Crude Supply: More Countries, Same Russian Grip
8 Sep
Summary
- Russia's crude share for India surged to 47% during the war period.
- India sourced crude from 31 countries, an increase of seven suppliers.
- Supplier concentration rose significantly despite adding new sources.
India expanded its crude oil sourcing to 31 countries during a recent six-month war period, yet its supply concentration intensified, primarily due to Russia's significantly increased share. Russia alone supplied 47% of India's crude imports between March and August, a sharp rise from 29% in the preceding period.
While India added seven new suppliers, nine of them collectively accounted for just 1.4% of imports. Venezuela was an exception, contributing nearly 5%. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, a measure of supplier concentration, rose 56% to 2,513, indicating high concentration.
Iraq saw a substantial decline in its supply share, falling from 18% to about 2%. This reduction was largely offset by increased Russian supplies. Saudi Arabian and U.S. supplies also decreased, with Venezuela and Brazil making notable reappearances among the top five suppliers.
Overall crude imports for India decreased by 5% to 4.77 million barrels per day during this period. The influx of barrels from new suppliers largely reflected global traders finding incremental supplies rather than a strategic shift by Indian refiners.
