According to Bank of Baroda, a state-controlled lender in India, the country’s imports of oil from Russia increased by a factor of ten last year, resulting in savings of approximately $5 billion (£4 billion) as the nation increased its crude purchases from Moscow.
While Western nations have decreased their energy imports from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been selling energy at discounted prices to countries such as India and China.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, previously relied on Russian oil for only 2% of its annual crude imports in 2021.
However, that proportion has now surged to almost 20%, according to Bank of Baroda.
Bank of Baroda reported that in 2021, Russian oil made up only 2% of India’s annual crude imports, but that figure has since increased significantly to almost 20%.
As per the data, India saved approximately $89 per tonne of crude by purchasing oil from Russia during the last financial year.
Despite facing pressure from the US and Europe, India has refused to comply with Western sanctions on Russian imports and has not explicitly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India has defended its oil purchases by stating that it is a country heavily dependent on energy imports and with millions living in poverty, it cannot afford to pay higher prices.
According to S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, in a TV interview last year, since the Ukraine conflict started, Europe has imported six times more energy from Russia than India.
“Europe has managed to reduce its imports while doing it in a manner that is comfortable,” he said.
Mr Jaishankar added: “If it is a matter of principle why did Europe not cut on the first day?”
With no end in sight to the conflict, some analysts expect Russia to continue to offer cheap oil to Asia’s biggest energy importers.
“We expect Russian crude intake to remain limited to these two countries [India and China], sustaining the steep discounts,” Vandana Hari, from energy analysis firm Vanda Insights told the BBC.
India’s oil refiners will continue to maximise their profit margins for as long as they can, but will simply “go back to their usual crude diet” if the sanctions were to be lifted, she added.