Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE oil exports to India rise, squeezing out GCC neighbours

A worker at a Kolkata oil terminal. India imports vast amounts of oil and the UAE's contribution has grown Reuters
A worker at a Kolkata oil terminal. India imports vast amounts of oil and the UAE's contribution has grown
  • UAE oil to India up 54%
  • Drops for Oman and Kuwait
  • Russia’s share climbing

The UAE’s oil exports to India have risen sharply this year, contrasting with declines for other members of the GCC.

In January to September 2024, Emirati exports were up 54 percent year on year, according to data from Reuters.

However, exports from the Middle East as a whole have remained broadly stable, increasing by only 0.7 percent between 2023 and 2024.

Exports from Kuwait and Oman tumbled by more than 50 percent in the first nine months of this year. The volumes of shipped oil from Saudi Arabia dropped by 8 percent year on year.

Outside the GCC, Iraq also recorded a small increase in oil exports to India.

India, the world’s second-largest buyer of crude, is expected to be the biggest driver of global energy demand by 2050.

Reuters data shows India imported 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in September 2024. Its total imports have risen by 8 percent year on year.

It is expected to add 8 million bpd to its oil demand by the middle of the century, according to Opec.

Gulf producers such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE traditionally accounted for about 60 percent of India's crude imports. 

But cheap sanctioned oil from Russia has flooded international markets since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Middle East now accounts for 45 percent of Indian imports, while Russia provides around 37 percent, according to Reuters.

“Oil and gas imports constitute a significant portion of India's overall import budget, rendering it a highly price-sensitive market,” Palash Jain, Middle East oil analyst at Facts Global Energy, told AGBI in August.

The UAE remains India's fourth-largest oil source, even though its exports fell by 44 percent in 2023.

In August 2023, UAE’s Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc and the Indian Oil Corporation exchanged 1 million barrels of oil for the first time under the local currency settlement framework, which allows transactions in rupee and dirham.

This reduces reliance on the dollar, minimising currency exchange risks and lowering transaction costs.