Imports of Russian oil to India decreased by 18%
23 September 2024 15:45
The volume of oil imports from Russia to India in August decreased by 18.3% compared to the previous month and amounted to about 1.7 million barrels per day. This was due to a decline in refining volumes at some of the country’s refineries, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Russian media.
At the same time, in August, China increased its purchases of Russian oil, regaining the status of Moscow’s largest client, which was temporarily taken over by India in July.
The share of Russian oil in India’s imports dropped to around 36% in August after five months of growth. In July, the share of Russian oil in India’s total imports was around 44%.
Despite the decline in share, Russia remained India’s main oil supplier in August. It is followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
In total, India, the world’s third largest importer and consumer of oil, imported 4.7 million barrels of oil per day in August, down 1% from July. In August, oil imports from Saudi Arabia fell to their lowest level since July 2023, amounting to about 498.2 thousand barrels per day.
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Indian company Chennai Petroleum has shut down several units at its 210 thousand barrels per day refinery in southern India, and Bharat Petroleum Corp has reduced processing volumes at its Bina refinery in central India for maintenance.
In August, Indian refineries also received about 138 thousand barrels per day from Canada and 254 thousand barrels per day from the United States.
The decline in Russian oil supplies led to an increase in the share of OPEC countries in India’s total purchases in August to a four-month high, driven by an increase in Iraqi oil imports. However, in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in April, the share of OPEC oil in India’s imports fell to a historic low.
India is one of the countries that benefit most from not joining the anti-Russian sanctions. Over the years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, it has overtaken China to become the largest buyer of Russian oil. The amount of oil India buys from Russia has increased from statistically insignificant levels in the 2021-2022 financial year to more than 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023-2024, which is a third of all oil purchased by the country. India also cooperates with Russia in military-technical terms.
Nevertheless, a month ago, the head of the Indian government paid his first-ever visit to Ukraine.
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