Cheap Russian oil fuels Indian crude exports to Europe as Ukraine war rages
Russia has become the biggest crude supplier to Indians, who have edged out Saudi Arabia as the largest petroleum exporter to Europe
India’s Russia connection is getting more attention now than ever after the Asian country recently emerged as the largest petroleum products supplier to Europe ahead of Saudi Arabia. It’s an achievement considering the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people domestically produces only a fraction of its requirements. In the 2021-22 financial year, it produced 29.69 MMT (Million Metric Tons) of crude oil, according to the country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas website. Moreover, Indians consumed 204.23 MMT of petroleum products that year, which was 5.11% more than the previous year.
A recent Bloomberg report said that India overtook Saudi Arabia, the world’s third-largest oil producer, as the largest exporter of petroleum products to the energy-hungry Europe. This is attributed to the cheap crude oil India has been importing from Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine war and exporting back to Europe.
