Amid US sanctions on Russian supply, India's purchases of crude oil from Latin America and Africa increased in February.

Following the imposition of sanctions by Western countries on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India emerged as the largest purchaser of discounted Russian seaborne oil.

As refiners resorted to alternate sources out of concern that tougher U.S. sanctions might result in a loss of Russian oil supply, India's imports of crude oil from Latin America and Africa increased somewhat in February, according to data from trade sources.

Following Western sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the South Asian country emerged as the largest purchaser of discounted Russian seaborne oil. Russian oil imports decreased 3% from January to roughly 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, according to news agency Reuters. Moscow's portion of New Delhi's total crude purchases decreased to its lowest level since January 2024.

According to the data, South American oil imports increased 60% to 453,600 bpd in February, while those from African countries increased to almost 330,000 bpd in February from 143,000 bpd in January.