crude oil
India has once again proved that its energy security remains strong even in times of global crisis. Despite increasing tensions in West Asia, the country’s crude oil imports reached a record level in June 2026. The most important thing was that a huge increase was recorded in the purchase of oil from Russia, due to which it remained India’s largest oil supplier.
Crude oil import reached record level in June
According to data from Kpler, an energy market monitoring organization, India imported an average of 49.3 lakh barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil in June. This is the biggest import so far in the month of June. Despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia and uncertainty in the global market, Indian refineries did not let down their purchasing strategy.
Buy maximum oil from Russia
In June, India’s crude oil imports from Russia increased to about 26 lakh barrels per day, which is more than half of the country’s total imports. In May this figure was 21.3 lakh barrels per day. After the Ukraine War, reduction in the purchase of Russian oil by European countries gave India an opportunity to buy oil at concessional prices and since then Russia has remained India’s largest oil supplier.
Benefit of advance preparation
Kpler analyst Sumit Ritolia says that India has shown excellent ability in maintaining the supply of crude oil in the last 100 days. Indian refineries usually make oil deals one to two months in advance. For this reason, the crude oil required till the first fortnight of August has already been purchased. Due to this, there is no need to make expensive purchases from the spot market in case of any sudden crisis.
Relief regarding supply in future also
Experts believe that the availability of crude oil globally will remain sufficient in the coming times also. Increasing exports from Africa, Russia and Venezuela, increase in production from OPEC+ countries and normal movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz will keep the supply strong. The softening of crude oil prices in the international market in recent times also indicates that at present the market’s concerns regarding supply have reduced.
On the possibility of resuming oil imports from Iran, experts say that there is little hope for it in the near future. Although some limited quantity of cargo may arrive in July or August, regular import does not seem possible at present.
India fulfills more than 88 percent of its total oil requirement through imports. In such a situation, the strategy of record imports and procurement from diverse sources shows that the country has made strong preparations for energy security. As long as there is no major disruption in global supply, Indian refineries will be able to maintain the availability of crude oil as per their requirement.
