Russian oil dominates India’s oil imports; share of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US falls – Instances of India

Russia dominated India’s oil imports in 2023-24 regardless of reducing reductions on oil and sanctions from G7 nations for its actions in Ukraine. Based on power cargo tracker Vortex, Russian oil now accounts for 35% of India’s complete imports, up from 23% the earlier yr.
In the meantime, different main suppliers like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the US have seen a lower of their market share, states an ET report.Iraq’s share dropped to twenty%, Saudi Arabia to fifteen%, UAE to six%, and the US to three.5%.
By way of provide, Russia supplied 1.57 million barrels a day in FY24, in comparison with 1 million barrels a day within the earlier yr. However, Iraq’s provide decreased to 0.89 million barrels a day from 0.95 million barrels a day, and Saudi Arabia’s provide fell to 0.69 million barrels a day from 0.78 million barrels a day.
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Regardless of challenges in transport, Indian refiners proceed to choose Russian crude as a consequence of engaging reductions. “What has ensured Russia’s dominance within the Indian market is low cost. In any other case, why would Indian refiners purchase from Russia? It takes for much longer and prices rather more to ship oil from Russia to India,” an oil trade government was quoted as saying.
Reductions on Russian oil have decreased considerably for the reason that starting of the Ukraine battle. Initially, Russian crude (Urals) was offered at a reduction of $30 per barrel to the worldwide benchmark Brent, however now the low cost has narrowed to $2-3 per barrel.
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Indian state refiners searching for cost-effective Russian crude oil, whereas avoiding transport and insurance coverage complexities, initially loved reductions averaging $12-13 per barrel. Inside a number of months, this low cost diminished to $5-7. In latest months, it has additional decreased to $2-3 per barrel, however stays interesting to refiners striving for financial savings in crude oil procurement.