Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
- Russia accounted for 30% of India's oil imports in March, per a Nikkei analysis.
- That's up from less than 2% in January 2022, and the figure could hit 50% this month.
- Russia's oil exports have returned to pre-war levels, with India and China absorbing 90% of those supplies.
Russia accounted for 30% of India's oil imports in March, according to a Nikkei analysis, and that new high could jump further to 40%-50% in April.
That figure is up from less than 2% in January 2022, just before Russia invaded Ukraine and when India at the time primarily relied on the Middle East for its oil.
With a series of Western sanctions and price cap mechanisms imposed on energy supplies coming out of Moscow, Russia's benchmark Urals crude is trading at about $65, about 20% lower than Brent crude, the international benchmark.
The discount has encouraged countries that haven't shunned Russia for its war on Ukraine to snap up cheap supplies.
In March, India imported over 6 million tons of Russian oil, and China imported over 4.7 million tons, per Nikkei, second to India. Beijing's dependence on Russia hit 10% of its oil imports, the report said.
With Europe largely out of the picture now, India and China are responsible for roughly 90% of Russia's oil export volumes, per Kpler data.
Led by their demand, Russia's crude exports have since returned to pre-war levels, the International Energy Agency reported in April.
In the first quarter, Russian seaborne crude exports hit 3.5 million barrels a day, compared to the 3.35 million barrels in the year-ago quarter.
To be sure, Russia's export revenues are 43% lower than a year ago despite its elevated sale volumes as prices have fallen, per the IEA.