Russian Crude Oil Surpasses Other Suppliers in India’s Oil Imports

In June, Russian crude oil took the lead in India’s total oil imports, accounting for 42% of the share, surpassing the 37% held in May. This significant increase was reported by Vortexa, a company specializing in tracking energy cargo movements.

According to a report by ET, Russian crude oil exports to India saw a 13% rise within a month, reaching 1.92 million barrels per day (mbd) in June. This surpassed the combined shares of other major suppliers, with Iraq at 16%, Saudi Arabia at 8%, the UAE at 8%, and the US at 7%.

Indian ports received a higher volume of Russian crude oil compared to China and Europe in June. Seaborne Russian crude imports to China decreased by 16% to 1.15 mbd, while Europe experienced a 19% drop to 396,000 bpd. It’s worth noting that both China and Europe also receive Russian oil through pipelines.

Analyst Serena Huang from Vortexa mentioned, “India’s imports of Russian crude in June have reached the highest level since last July, driven by a decrease in import demand from China. With Russia’s crude exports down almost 5% month-on-month in June, arrivals into India could remain stable or decrease in July.” The transportation of oil from Russian ports to India typically takes about a month.

Indian refiners find Russian crude oil appealing due to the discounted price, which is approximately $3-4 per barrel on a delivered-at-port basis. Even though the discounts are not as wide as the $12-13 per barrel during the early stages of the Ukraine war in 2022, they still remain competitive against supplies from the Gulf.

In June, Iraq’s supplies to India decreased by 22% to 754,000 bpd, while Saudi Arabia witnessed a 36% drop to 386,000 bpd. On the other hand, the United States saw a 63% increase in supplies to India, reaching 330,000 bpd.

India’s imports of refined products from Russia went up by 9% to 162,000 bpd in June. Meanwhile, China’s imports of Russian products increased by 20% to 288,000 bpd, while Europe’s imports decreased by 9% to 511,000 bpd.

In June, private sector refiners in India accounted for 44% of the total Russian crude imports, up from 40% in May. Urals, the primary Russian grade, made up 80% of the overall crude imports from Russia in June, slight decrease from 84% in May.