Iraq overtakes Saudi Arabia to become India’s top crude oil supplier

Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia by a wide margin to become India’s top crude oil supplier, meeting more than a fifth of the country’s oil needs in the current financial year.

Saudi Arabia traditionally has been India’s top oil source but in the April-January period of 2017-18, Iraq dethroned it, supplying 38.9 million tonnes (MT) of oil, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Pradhan said Saudi Arabia supplied 30.9 MT of crude oil in



the first 10 months of the current fiscal.

India imported 184.4 MT of crude oil during the period as compared to 213.9 MT in the entire 2016-17 fiscal, and 202.8 MT in 2015-16.

Iran, the third largest supplier

Despite India cutting imports over delays in award of contract for a gas field development, Iran continued to be the third largest supplier selling 18.4 MT during April-January.

This is the second year in a row that Iran has occupied the third position.