Data from commercial sources showed on Thursday that oil imports from the Middle East rose by 6.5% in January to 2.7 million barrels per day, with Iraq continuing to be the second-largest oil supplier to India with exports amounting to 1.1 million barrels per day, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Indian refineries turned to non-Russian oil last month after the government warned them of U.S. sanctions weeks before they were announced.

India's oil imports from Russia, its largest oil supplier, increased by 4.3% last month to 1.58 million barrels per day, making it the top exporter to India according to the data.

It is likely that India's purchases of Russian oil will decrease in the coming months, as refineries will only buy Russian oil if it is supplied by companies and ships not subjected to U.S. sanctions.

The stringent sanctions on Moscow by Western countries, including the United States, have disrupted global oil trade and forced buyers of discounted Russian crude to find new ways to maintain their purchases.

The data also showed that India's crude oil imports from the United States sharply increased in January compared to December, making Washington the fifth-largest oil supplier to New Delhi.

India imported 218,400 barrels per day of oil from the United States compared to 70,600 barrels per day in December.

Indian refineries, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, are preparing to increase their energy imports from Washington as New Delhi looks to boost its energy purchases from the United States to $25 billion from $15 billion last year.