US oil supplies to India jump 10-fold to 250,000 bpd in 2 yrs

New Delhi: US oil supplies to India have jumped ten-fold to 2,50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the last two years in signs of growing energy ties between the two nations.

Speaking at a business meeting alongside US President Donald Trump, US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said India imported 25,000 barrels per day of crude oil from the United States in 2017.

“In the last two years, we have seen a remarkable offtake in the US oil and gas by India, from 25,000 bpd in 2017 to 250,000 bpd now, a 10-fold increase and we expect it to be better from here,” he said.

Trump remarked that energy trade is “going up very very rapidly.”

“Thank you very much Dan. Really great job,” he said.

The US is India’s sixth-largest oil supplier.

India began importing crude oil from the US in 2017 as it looked to diversify its import basket beyond the OPEC nations. It bought 1.9 million tonnes (38,000 bpd) of crude oil from the US in 2017-18 and another 6.2 million tonnes (1,24,000 bpd) in 2018-19.

In the first six months of the current fiscal (2019-20), the US supplied 5.4 million tonnes (MT) of crude oil to India.

Speaking at a separate Indo-US business summit, India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the US emerging as the 6th largest source for crude oil imports for India is a significant development.

“India is also now the 4th largest export destination for US crude,” he said. “Our LNG imports from the US are also increasing progressively ever since the imports started in March 2018. India is now the 5th largest destination of US exports of LNG.”

Pradhan, who met the US Energy Secretary on Monday, said India’s bilateral hydrocarbon trade has increased exponentially during the last three years and it touched USD 7.7 billion mark last year, accounting for 11 per cent of total two-way trade.

“These developments are reflective of a new and emerging dynamic between the two countries,” he said. “Both Secretary Dan Brouillette and I have agreed that there is a need now to develop industry-level engagements for technology infusions as well as investment partnerships in the energy sector.”

On talks between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, the Minister said both the leaders have again emphasised the importance of further strengthening the energy pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership.

“The high importance attached to the energy component of our bilateral engagement is rather evident from positive developments during the last three years under the India-US strategic energy partnership,” he said. “Yesterday, Secretary Brouillette and I reviewed the ongoing strategic energy partnership. We are planning the next Ministerial meeting of the Strategic Energy Partnership in April this year for deepening engagements at government and industry channels.”

Iraq is India’s top crude oil supplier, meeting close to one-fourth of the country’s oil needs. It sold 26 million tonnes of crude oil to India during April to September.

India, which is 83 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs, bought 111.4 million tonnes of crude oil from overseas during April-September.

Saudi Arabia has traditionally been India’s top oil source but has been relegated to the second spot, exporting 20.7 million tonnes of crude oil in the first six months.