'Oil's' well in September: How India kept crude flowing amid the energy crisis
India's crude oil imports reached a year-high in September, driven by a resurgence in supplies from Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This shift indicates a recovery in energy trade routes despite ongoing regional conflicts.
Why it matters
The diversification and stabilization of energy imports are critical for India's economic security amidst global supply chain volatility.
India has kept the crude flowing even as the Middle East conflict has choked global energy supply chains for over seven months. Imports surged to a year-high of 5.26 million barrels a day (mbd) in September, powered by a surprise jump in Gulf supplies.The rise in shipments from the region helped bring more Middle Eastern crude back into India’s import basket, with Iraq emerging as the country’s second-largest supplier behind Russia for the first time since the US-Iran conflict began in February.The surge was broad-based across the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar together accounting for 39% of India’s total crude imports in September, according to Kpler.
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