India’s Crude Oil Import Bill Soars 46% as Middle East Crisis Drives Up Prices

Tsvetana Paraskova

What I Cover Tsvetana Paraskova is an energy and products reporter

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By Tsvetana Paraskova-Oct 19, 2026, 3:35 AM CDT

India paid$15.4 billion to import petroleum in September, up by 46%from the year-ago import costs of $10.5 billion, as global oil costs and the Indian import crude basket skyrocketed in the middle of reignited stress in the Middle East.

India, the world’s third-largest unrefined oil importer, saw its crude imports increase by 7%in September from a year previously. The rate to pay for unrefined oil imports skyrocketed by 46%, according to information from the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) mentioned by the Times of India.

The Indian basket of crude, the recommendation for the rate of India’s imports, balanced $116.09 per barrel in September, according to federal government informationgreater than the $114.48 per barrel in April at peak obstruction at the Strait of Hormuz.

The Indian basket of petroleum is the average of an obtained basket consisting of a sweet-grade criteria, Dated Brent, and the sour-grade criteria of the Oman and Dubai typical imported by Indian refineries throughout monthly.

In the duration April to September, India’s petroleum import costs likewise leapt by 46.3% to as high as $90.6 billionup from $61.9 billion in the very same duration in 2015, totally due to the rise in oil rates as import volumes have actually stayed flat or lower than year-ago levels in current months.

India’s petroleum import costs has actually skyrocketed this year, due to the minimized oil streams from the Middle East and the high threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The freight rates on the essential path from Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia’s Persian Gulf to India have actually skyrocketed 3 to 4 times given that February 28, when the war started, and Iran shut off the Strait of Hormuz.

India’s import expenses for October might go beyond the September $15.4 billion expense as the Indian crude import rate has actually balanced $121.25 a barrel up until now this month, according to federal government information.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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