Citing data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Division of the country's Petroleum Ministry, The Hindu reported that spending on crude oil imports into India had doubled to $119 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31.
The report notes that the world's third-largest oil importer, which consumes more than 85% of foreign oil, spent $13.7 billion on crude purchases in March alone.
The data showed that imports also increased over this period from 196.5 million tonnes in fiscal 2020/2021 to 212.2 million tonnes in fiscal 2021/2022.
India has become as important to international markets as China because of its huge dependence on imported oil.
Also, because of its import dependence and recent price trends, India has significantly increased its consumption of Russian oil amid Western sanctions. According to a Bloomberg report last week, India doubled its purchases of Russian oil, regardless of grade, due to the low prices at which Russian oil is sold because of sanctions.
This has prompted warnings from the US, which, as in the case of Iran, wants to cut off access to Russian oil markets. However, India has insisted on doing its own thing. It seems to be about more than just oil. Demand for coal in India is also high and buyers are eyeing Russian cargoes amid shortages that have already led to a series of power cuts in some parts of India.
Oil prices are slowly correcting as of today, with WTI currently trading $1.5 below the psychological $100 mark:
India's purchase of Russian coal reached its highest level in the past two years in March. This month, coal demand reached its highest level in almost four decades, with shortages leading to power cuts in three states, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.