India saved nearly $2.7 billion in the first nine months of 2023 by importing discounted Russian crude oil under Western sanctions, Reuters calculated, using data from India’s commerce ministry.
Access to cheap Russian oil has allowed India to cut imports from the Middle East, where prices have strengthened after Saudi Arabia’s voluntary additional supply cuts since July.
The average price of Russian crude oil supplied to Indian refiners during this period was $525.60 per ton, including transportation and insurance costs.
In comparison, the average price of Iraqi crude oil, which is similar in quality to medium sour Russian Urals crude oil and accounts for the bulk of India’s purchases from Russia, averaged $564.46 per ton during the same period.
That equates to savings of $2.7 billion for India compared with what it would have paid if it had bought Iraqi oil instead, the calculations showed.