Crude oil accounts for about a third of India's overall imports by value.
Access to cheap Russian oil enabled India to cut imports from the Middle East, where prices strengthened following Saudi Arabia's voluntary additional supply cuts since July.
India imported 69.06 million metric tons of Russian oil, equivalent to 1.85 million barrels per day (bpd), between January and September, commerce ministry data showed, including Russian oil imported from South Korea, Greece and Spain through transshipments.
The average price for Russian oil delivered to Indian refiners was $525.60 per ton during that period, including shipping and insurance costs, Reuters calculations based on ministry data showed.
Discounted Russian oil cuts India's crude import billIndia saved at least $2 billion in buying discounted Russian oilBy importing Russian oil, Indian refiners benefit from lower feedstock costs, which have buoyed gross refining margins and curtailed revenue loss from subsidised retail fuel sales.
Persons:
Dado Ruvic, India doesn't, Nidhi Verma, Florence Tan, Tony Munroe, Christina Fincher
Organizations:
REUTERS, Saudi, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Thomson
Locations:
DELHI, India, Europe, Moscow, Ukraine, South Korea, Greece, Spain, transshipments, Russia, Saudi, Sokol, China