On December 11, 2019 according to the data furnished by the oil ministry of India to parliamentary committee, the United States(US) has surpassed Kuwait to become India’s 6th largest oil supplier. It supplied 70% more crude to India, the world’s third largest energy consumer during April-September 2019. It supplied 5.4 million tonnes of crude oil during the first six months of 2019-20. While US stands 6th, Iraq continues to be the top crude oil supplier to India.
Key Points:
i.Iraq’s oil supply to India: Iraq supplied 26 million tonnes of crude oil to India during April to September 2019.
ii.Crude oil import by India: India is 83% dependent on oil imports to meet its oil needs. It has bought 111.4 million tonnes of crude oil from overseas during April-September 2019.
- Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has traditionally been India’s top oil source. For the 1st time, it was dethroned from its first position to the second spot by Iraq in the 2017-18 fiscal year. Saudi Arabia, exported 20.7 million tonnes of crude oil in the first six months.
- Import from US: India imported crude oil from the US in 2017 inorder to diversify its import basket beyond the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) nations. It bought 1.9 million tonnes of crude oil from the US in 2017-18. In 2018, US supplied 3.1 million tonnes of oil to India in the first 6 months in 2018.
- Oil import stopped from Iran: India stopped importing crude oil from Iran following the reimposition of economic sanctions in May 2019 by the US. Iran supplied 23.9 million tonnes in fully 2018-19 fiscal.it was India’s second-biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11.
iii.Other top suppliers: Nigeria ranks third in crude oil supply to India. It supplied 9.9 million tonnes of crude oil in April-September. It was followed by United Arab Emirates(UAE) (8.9million tonnes supply) and Venezuela (8 million tonnes supply) at the fourth and 5th place respectively
About Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):
Founded- September 1960.
Headquarters- Vienna, Austria.
Secretary General- Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.
Member countries- 14 counties.
