Russia is India’s fourth largest oil supplier

Tanker-tracking data showed that Russia became India’s fourth-largest oil supplier in April, and volumes are set to rise further in the coming months as lower prices spur demand from the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer.
Russia’s share of India’s oil purchases rose to a record 6 percent, or about 277,000 barrels per day, in April, from about 66,000 barrels per day in March, when it was in tenth place, according to data provided by trade sources. .
“Russian Urals crude prices have fallen sharply due to the sanctions imposed on Russia, while CBC crude from Kazakhstan has come under pressure as it is loaded from a Russian port,” said Ehsanul Haq, an analyst at Refinitiv.
He added that the Indians bought Russian oil, which did not find customers, while some European buyers bought larger quantities of African and American oil.
The share of African oil in India’s total crude imports fell to about six percent in April from 14.5 percent in March, while the share of the United States nearly halved to three percent.
Crude from Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan together accounted for about 11 percent of India’s oil imports in April, compared to about three percent in March. The share of Middle East oil rose to 71 percent from 68 percent.
Preliminary data from Refinitiv showed that India’s oil imports from Russia are expected to rise further to around 487,500 in May, as refineries ramped up purchases from Russia.
Last month, Iraq continued to be the number one oil supplier to India, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Indian refineries imported 4.7 million barrels per day of oil in April, an increase of 6.9 percent from the previous month and about 11.6 compared to a year ago, when the second wave of Covid-19 affected domestic demand for oil.
Ehsan-ul-Haq said India’s oil imports were high in April because refineries increased consumption to meet domestic demand and take advantage of higher refining margins.
The rise in imports from Russia reduced OPEC’s share of foreign supplies to India in April. (Archyde.com)