India’s crude oil import strategy is now entering a new phase of change. Import consignment data and analysts show that West Asian suppliers, led by Saudi Arabia, are regaining their market share. At the same time, the supply of Russian oil still remains important, but it is decreasing due to geopolitical and international bans. Let us also tell you how much crude oil India has imported so far in the month of February. Also, how much oil has India imported from Russia and Middle East countries?
How much has India imported so far?
India’s total crude oil imports fell to an average of 48.5 lakh barrels per day (bpd) from February 1 to 18 due to reduced supplies from Russia. This is eight percent less than January’s 5.25 lakh bpd. This decline in the flow of oil from there has been seen after US sanctions on major Russian exporters and the European Union’s 18th sanctions package came into effect last month. Ship movement monitoring data shows that Russian supplies to India declined from 12.8 lakh bpd in December 2025 to 12.2 lakh bpd in January and further declined by almost 10 per cent to 10.9 lakh bpd in early February.
Supply from Russia is continuously decreasing
Sumit Ritolia, Chief Research Analyst, Global Commodity Data Analyst Company ‘Kepler’, said that India’s Russian crude oil import is estimated to be around 10-12 lakh bpd in February, which is likely to come down to around 8-10 lakh bpd in March. In the year 2022, India started purchasing Russian oil on a large scale after the Ukraine War because it was available at a huge discount, but now this inflow seems to be stagnating instead of increasing. However, he said, we see this as a short-term stability, and not a return to the highest levels seen in mid-2025. We estimate that due to commercial and policy constraints, Russia’s share in India’s total imports will gradually decline and stabilize at a lower level in 2026 compared to 2024-2025.
Supply near peak from Saudi Arabia
According to current assessments, a practical understanding has been reached between the US and India that allows India to import Russian imports for its basic needs, but does not encourage them to increase further. As the quantity of Russian oil is decreasing, the West Asia Gulf countries are filling this shortage. Ritolia said that supplies from Saudi Arabia are expected to reach 10 lakh to 11 lakh bpd in February, which is the highest level since November 2019. Since the beginning of the month, the flow of oil coming from Saudi Arabia has been recorded at about 14 lakh bpd. However, there is a possibility of some softening in it in the beginning of March. Based on current trends, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the top supplier to India in February, followed by Russia and Iraq.