New Delhi: India paid $84.20 per barrel for Russian crude oil in October, way above the $60 per barrel price cap set by the Group of Seven nations in December 2022 as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.According to the news report, India has emerged as the biggest buyer of Russian oil, paying more than the price cap set by the Western countries. It paid an average price of about $81.24 per barrel in September. In October, it paid the highest price so far, at $84.20 per barrel.India wants to cut oil import billIndia is dependent on oil imports as its domestic oil output lags behind growing demand.It has purchased oil from Russia at cheaper prices in a bid to cut its oil import bill, taking advantage of discounted prices owing to Western sanctions starting early last year.Russia has grown to be India’s largest supplier of oil and provided 40% of India’s imports of the product as of the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24, Reuters reported.In October this year, crude oil from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the second and third-biggest oil suppliers to India, averaged at $85.75 per barrel and $98.77 per barrel respectively, Reuters reported citing available data.Prices were high at the time due to production cuts by the world’s leading oil-producing countries.At a time when the global oil market had tightened, Russian crude oil was the cheaper option at $84.20 per barrel.The government’s viewsThe Indian government has defended its decision to defy the sanctions against Russia, arguing it had a duty to take advantage of lower prices whenever possible.“As the world’s third-largest consumer of oil and gas, a consumer where the levels of income are not very high, it is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access on the most advantageous terms to international markets,” external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said last year.He continued: “In that aspect, we have quite honestly seen that the India-Russian relationship has worked to our advantage. If it works to my advantage, I would like to keep that going.”India also allegedly leads a group of countries that helps sidestep the sanctions against Russia by buying discounted Russian crude oil, refining it and selling the processed products to European countries.As of earlier this month, global oil prices have been on the decline and Russia’s flagship crude oil variety is priced at less than $60 per barrel in ports at the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported.This will help India import greater quantities of Russian crude oil, it added.
