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India’s crude oil imports from Russia rose to 1.97 million barrels per day (mbpd) during June 2024, the highest since July 2023, largely due to lower cargoes to China.
According to data from energy intelligence firm Vortexa, imports from Russia were up by almost 15 per cent month-on-month and 2 per cent on an annual basis. Data shows that both public and private sector refiners continued to import in record quantities from Russia.
Public refiners such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) imported 1.10 mbpd crude oil, which is also a 12-month high.
The cargoes last month were higher by 6 per cent M-o-M. However, imports were down by almost 11 per cent on an annual basis. During May-July 2023, public refiners imported more than 1.2 mbpd on a monthly basis from Russia.
Private refiners Reliance Industries (RIL) and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy imported a record 871,200 barrels per day (bpd) from Russia in June 2024. The cargoes were higher by 28 per cent M-o-M and 20 per cent Y-o-Y.
Vortexa’s head of APAC analysis Serena Huang told businessline, “India’s imports of Russian crude at 1.97 mbpd in June 2024 is the highest since last July. China’s lower appetite of Russian crude has led to more barrels heading to India.”
Import momentum
India’s crude imports have remained robust at 4.62 mbpd in June, Huang said. “We expect the country’s crude imports to remain robust, with downside risks from softer refining margins due to slowing global oil demand,” she added.
While Indian refiners procured more barrels from Russia, cargoes from traditional suppliers in West Asia, such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia, declined.
Crude oil imports from India’s second largest supplier, Iraq, fell by 20 per cent M-o-M and by 3.5 per cent Y-o-Y to roughly 754,000 bpd in June 2024.
The decline was steeper in in-bound shipments from Saudi Arabia at 36 per cent M-o-M and 46 per cent Y-o-Y to around 387,000 bpd. Some trade sources said that the higher official selling price (OSP) of its flagship medium sour grade Arab Light in June could have been a reason for the lower cargoes.
Crude oil shipments from the US continued to rise for the second consecutive month in June 2024. India imported roughly 331,000 bpd from the US last month, compared to around 224,000 bpd in May 2024 and 112,000 bpd in April.
Trade sources said the imports were of light sweet grade due to weak market fundamentals amid refinery outages in Europe.
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