NEW DELHI: India’s crude import bill rose 26% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026-27, despite volumes falling 18%, as the West Asia conflict disrupted supplies and pushed up oil prices.Commerce department data showed India imported 59.7 million tonnes (MT) of crude between April and June this year, down from 73 MT in the corresponding period last fiscal. Import bill, however, rose to $49 billion from $39 billion in April-June 2025.India is the world’s third-largest crude importer, with imports meeting 88% of annual consumption. Global oil prices, which were below $70 per barrel before the US-Iran conflict broke out in Feb, surged after shipments through the Strait of Hormuz – which handles a fifth of global oil transit – were disrupted. Around 40% of India’s crude imports came through the strait from West Asian suppliers. Brent crude touched nearly $120 per barrel at the conflict’s peak. The weakening rupee also added to the import bill.Since India imports 1.8-2 billion barrels of crude a year, every $1-per-barrel increase in oil prices can add up to $2 billion to its oil import bill.
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Average cost of crude sourced from different countries varied, partly because of differences in freight, insurance and war-risk premiums. Russia, India’s biggest supplier during the quarter, supplied crude at an average cost of $2,408 per tonne, while UAE crude cost $2,213 per tonne.“Our priority at that time was to secure supplies from wherever possible to ensure energy security for 1.4 billion people,” said an executive of a state-run refining company, adding that discounts available before the conflict had disappeared and refiners were forced to pay hefty war-risk premiums.Russia remained India’s top crude supplier in the first quarter of FY27, accounting for more than 40% of imports. UAE (14.6%), Saudi Arabia (9.9%), Venezuela (5.2%) and Oman (4.5%) were the other major suppliers.