Kpler announced that India has imported the equivalent of 7 million barrels of US West Texas Intermediate crude since the beginning of March. Which means that this amount is the largest since May 2023.

Sources added that the companies "Bharat Petroleum", "Indian Oil" and "Reliance Industries" are planning to buy more American oil in the coming period, and although India was Russia's preferred destination for exporting Russian Sokol and Urals crude after the Russian-Ukrainian war, the US sanctions on Russian oil It made India look for a cheaper alternative, which it found in American and then Saudi oil.

There are crude oils in the Middle East at cheaper prices than West Texas Midland crude, but India chose West Texas crude because it is characterized by its high production of gasoline and diesel oil.

Russian oil recorded an average of 39% of India’s oil imports, while the United States contributed 10% of India’s crude oil imports, before the Russian-Ukrainian war, specifically in 2021, but after the war that percentage became only 4% due to India’s orientation to crude oil. Despite this, ships shipping Russian oil to India face sanctions, as two ships loaded with Russian Urals crude have been standing on the Indian coast for about two weeks.