Indian refiners turn to Latin America, Africa to replace Russian oil in Feb, data shows

A container ship sails along Nakhodka Bay near the oil terminal in the port city of Nakhodka, Russia. (Image: Reuters)

India's crude oil imports from Latin America and Africa rose marginally in February as refiners turned to alternative sources, fearing a loss of Russian oil supplies caused by tighter U.S. sanctions, data from trade sources shows.

The South Asian nation became the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne oil sold at a discount after Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In February, imports of Russian oil fell 3% from January to about 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd), with Moscow's share in New Delhi's overall crude purchases shrinking to the lowest since January 2024, the data shows.

India's oil imports from African nations rose to about 330,000 bpd in February from 143,000 bpd in January while those from South America rose 60% to 453,600 bpd, the data showed.

In January, Washington imposed sweeping sanctions targeting Russian producers and tankers, disrupting supply from the world's No. 2 producer and tightening ship availability.

Russia's share in the overall oil imports by India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, shrank marginally to about 30.5% in February while that of Latin America rose to 9%, the highest since December 2021, the data showed.

Last month India received a rare cargo of Gabon's Etame grade and for the first time took Argentina's Medanito oil, the data showed.

Refiners in India maximised the purchase of Russian oil ahead of ahead of a Feb. 27 deadline set under the latest US sanctions to settle some energy deals, the data show.

About half-a-dozen vessels loaded with Russian oil arrived at Indian ports towards the end of the month and were discharged in March.

Lower intake of Russia oil slightly pushed up the share of oil from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and West African nations in February.