India Oil Import

India's imports of crude oil in February rose about 8% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, as fuel demand hit over 2-decade highs in the world's third-biggest oil importer

India mostly buys the Urals crude from Russia. This grade made up 80% of India's oil imports last month

India imported about 410,000 tonnes of naphtha, used for making petrochemicals, in Sept-Oct, the Refinitiv data showed

Indian petroleum industry is at the cusp of opportunity and will be able to produce 25 per cent of its crude oil demand by 2030, Union Petroleum and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Saudi Arabia emerged as the second-biggest oil supplier to India after a three-month gap, overtaking Russia by a thin margin, while Iraq retained the top spot in August

Iraq, India's biggest crude oil supplier, maintained its lead over Russia in August, supplying 12-20 per cent more to India in the first 30 days of the month

It's now the 4th largest petroleum supplier for India with exports worth $1.3 bn in April

India said oil-cartel OPEC needs to address anomalies in the crude price differential for different regions.

India began importing crude oil from the US in 2017 as it looked to diversify its import basket beyond the OPEC nations

The government is focusing on increased use of bio-fuels and raising domestic crude oil and gas production to reduce imports

OPEC nations led by Iraq and Saudi Arabia supply more than 80% of India's oil needs

India, which imports over 80% of its oil needs, spent $87.7 billion on importing 220.43 million tonne of crude oil in 2017-18. For 2018-19, the imports are pegged at almost 227 MT

The Trump administration's position is that no exemptions will be permitted, says a US State Department official

Iran has offered to increase a discount on freight prices to Indian state refiners to double its sales to the companies, which control about one-third of India's refining capacity