New Delhi: India became the world’s biggest buyer of discounted seaborne Russian crude oil in April, overtaking China. Imports went up 10% on the month to a nine-month high, Business Standard reported, citing early ship tracking data and industry officials.
In April, Indian purchases of Russian oil exceeded Chinese imports by 450,000 barrels per day (bdp), the report stated, citing market intelligence agency Vortexa. The total amount of oil India bought went from 1.65 million bpd in March to 1.85 million bpd in April.
A reason for rising Russian imports, the newspaper said, is the reimposed US sanctions on Venezuela, which was otherwise providing cheaper supplies.
India and China together accounted for buying 62% of Russia’s crude oil exports in April.
“Higher Russian crude exports in Feb/ Mar as well as lower imports by Chinese refiners have made available more volumes for Indian refiners,”’ said Singapore-based Serena Huang, head of Asia-Pacific market analysis for Vortexa, according to Business Standard. “Given that Russian crude cargoes are likely to be more discounted than Middle East grades, Indian refiners are likely to opt for the former.”
