Russia may account for almost a third of India’s oil imports by the end of the current financial year, Arun Kumar Singh, the head of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, was cited as saying on Saturday by Russian news agency Interfax.

“The share of Russian oil imports, which was less than 2% in 2021/2022, has increased tenfold to 20% in the oil import basket,” Singh was quoted as saying at a St Petersburg International Economic Forum panel.

The level may reach 30% by the end of the 2023/24 financial year, he added.

“Then, guaranteed trade between the two countries will grow even stronger and Russia will have a major role to play in ensuring India’s energy security.”

Interfax did not specify frames of the 2023/24 financial year.

Russia has been redirecting its energy supplies from Western countries which have imposed restrictions and sanctions on trade with Moscow, including an oil price cap, after its invasion of Ukraine. China and India purchase most of the re-routed Russian energy.

Russian crude oil imports by India, the world’s No. 3 crude importer, hit an all-time high in May as buyers gorged on discounted supplies, reducing demand for oil from the Middle East and Africa, according to preliminary assessments from ship trackers.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)