2024-05-03 16:12:19
New Delhi: Russia‘s crude oil imports reached near record levels in April. During this period, Russia’s share in India‘s total imports was about 40% which was 30% in March. In July last year it was at an all-time high of 42%. Due to high global crude oil prices, Indian refiners bought more oil from Russia at cheaper prices. Indian refinery companies imported 1.78 million barrels of crude oil a day from Russia in April, up 19% from March, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. In April, China imported 1.27 million barrels of oil per day by sea from Russia and Europe imported 396,000 barrels of oil per day. Russia was the largest supplier of oil to India in April. This was followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. But India’s imports from Russia remained more than the combined supply of these three. However, India’s total crude oil imports in April declined by 8% compared to March to 4.5 million barrels per day. Imports from Iraq, the second-biggest supplier, fell 31% to 776,000 barrels per day. Similarly, supply from Saudi Arabia declined by 6% to 681,000 barrels per day. Exports from UAE to India declined by 40% while supplies from the US fell by 15%. Iraq’s share in India’s total imports declined from 23% in March to 17% in April, while UAE’s share declined to 6% from 9%. Russia’s share in April was above the 2023-24 average of 35%. India’s private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy accounted for 45% of the total crude oil imports from Russia in April. Russian energy company Rosneft also has a stake in Naira Energy.
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Vortexa analyst Serena Huang said India’s imports of Russian crude oil reached a nine-month high in April. Higher crude oil exports from Russia and lower imports by Chinese refiners in February/March have resulted in higher crude oil production available to Indian refiners. Cheaper Russian oil helps Indian refineries reduce average costs. High prices are already hitting the profits of Indian refineries. The profit of the country’s largest refiner Indian Oil has fallen by 52% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Brent is around $85 per barrel while Russian oil is getting cheaper by $7-8 per barrel compared to Brent. Ural accounted for 89% of India’s Russian oil purchases in April and March.