NEW DELHI: According to tanker tracking data, Russia became India’s fourth-largest oil supplier in April, with volumes expected to grow further in the coming months as cheap prices boost demand from the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer.

According to trade sources, Russia’s proportion of India’s oil purchases increased to a record 6% in April, or roughly 277,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from about 66,000 bpd in March, when it was in 10th place.

Last month, India’s leading refiner, Indian Oil Corp., purchased its first-ever Russian Arco oil cargo.

Due to Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a rare arbitrage flow has emerged, prompting Indian refiners to expand their purchases of cheaper Russian oil previously spurned by many.

“Prices of Russian Urals crude fell dramatically as a result of Russian sanctions, while Kazakhstan’s CPC mix oil came under pressure as it was loaded from a Russian port,” said Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq.

According to him, Indians purchased stranded Russian oil, while certain European purchasers purchased bigger volumes of African and American oil.

African oil’s part of India’s overall oil imports fell to roughly 6% in April from 14.5 percent in March, while the United States’ contribution nearly halved to 3%.

In April, grades from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan amounted for about 11 percent of India’s imported oil, up from about 3% in March. Middle Eastern oil’s share increased from 68 percent to 71 percent.

India’s oil imports from Russia are anticipated to remain stable.