Russia again ranked second in oil supplies to India in September

MOSCOW, 3 Oct — PRIME. Russia in September again became the second largest supplier of oil to India, analysts at Kpler said.

Earlier it was reported that in August Russia fell to third place among the largest exporters of crude oil to India, while Saudi Arabia moved up two positions to become India’s largest oil exporter, surpassing Iraq for the first time in a year. Saudi Arabia’s market share in India was 20.8% in August, followed by Iraq (20.6%) and Russia (18.2%).

“India (in September) imported 842,000 b/d of Russian oil, compared to 732,000 b/d in August and 888,000 b/d in July… Saudi Arabia was the largest supplier at 869,000 b/d, while Iraq came in third. place with 814,000 barrels per day,” Business Standard reported, citing company experts.

According to Kpler, Indian refiners expanded their Russian oil basket last month by placing orders for previously rarely ordered ESPO, ARCO and Novy Port Light grades. Rebates on Russian crude may have come down from June/July levels, but the crude is still cheaper than American, African and many Middle Eastern grades, according to a government refining official.

At the same time, analysts at Vortexa, an industry analytical company, believe that Russian oil supplies to India will increase even more in October and November.

Vortexa analyst Serena Huang noted that India’s crude oil imports rebounded in September after falling in August, but remain well below their June and July peaks. Ongoing and upcoming seasonal repairs at several refineries this quarter have dampened refiners’ appetite for crude oil imports, but refiners should increase crude oil purchases next month to meet higher domestic demand during next quarter’s holiday season, as well as higher demand. for diesel fuel from Europe, she stressed.