New Delhi, Aug 16: India has increased purchases of oil from the US, with Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest oil company, placing orders of around 2 million barrels of oil in August for October delivery.Indian Oil Corporation has bought another cargo of U.S. crude in August for delivery in October. The deal is part of a string of purchases of U.S. oil of around 2 million barrels for October delivery, following President Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on Indian exports, according to a Reuters report from Singapore.
Meanwhile, India also bought 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil in August against orders placed in June and July to replace purchases from Iraq due to geopolitical tensions in the region.
The increase in Russian flow was at the cost of purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to Kpler.
Official figures show that India’s oil and gas imports from the US have jumped by as much as 51 per cent from January to June this year. The country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the US nearly doubled to $2.46 billion in the financial year 2024-25 from $1.41 billion in 2023-24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured in February that India would increase energy imports from the US to $25 billion in 2025 from $15 billion in 2024 to help reduce the trade deficit of the US. This was followed by Government-owned Indian oil and gas companies entering into discussions for more long-term energy purchases from US companies. New Delhi has also made it clear that it was diversifying its sources of energy imports to reduce dependence on Russian oil.
India has pointed out that it has been buying Russian oil as no sanctions had been imposed on such purchases that were less than the price cap imposed by the G7 nations. It was, in fact, part of the US policy to allow such purchases to as more oil in the market would prevent oil prices from soaring in the international market. Moreover, purchases at low prices also helped to restrict Russia’s earnings.
Meanwhile, New Delhi has made it clear that India and the US share a very important strategic relationship that goes beyond trade.
The government has stated that India-US ties are multi-layered and trade is “only one aspect” of a “very important relationship” that also rests on geopolitical and strategic considerations.
The government has also informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that there is no change of plans for the sixth round of the India-US talks, which might lead to a trade agreement between the two countries.