India’s crude oil imports from Russia fall in June from previous month: Vortexa

India’s crude oil imports from Russia fall in June from previous month: Vortexa

India’s import of crude oil from Russia fell in June from the levels seen in the last month, Vortexa, an energy cargo tracker, told Moneycontrol.

Russia supplied 1.79 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to India in June compared to 1.96 million bpd in May, data by Vortexa showed. The decline in imports from Russia in June comes amid reports of India reaching a peak with regard to imports of crude oil from Moscow.

This is the first time that India’s imports of crude oil from Russia have declined on a month-on-month basis in 2023.

Russia, however, remained the top supplier of crude to India in June. Imports from Russia again exceeded the combined shipments of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq — the traditional suppliers of crude to India.

In June, India imported 7,34,000 bpd of crude from Saudi Arabia and 8,44,000 bpd from Iraq. The combined imports of crude from these two Middle-Eastern countries have increased in June compared to the previous month. In May, India imported 5,60,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia and 8,39,000 bpd from Iraq.

Russia has become a major source of crude oil for India ever since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and has overtaken Saudi Arabia and Iraq to become India’s top crude supplier. India has been importing the maximum crude oil from Russia since October 2022.

Moscow has been diverting its oil to Asian countries, especially India and China, at discounted rates ever since the European Union (EU) and the US imposed a slew of sanctions on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

India has increased its share of Russian crude procured at discounted prices. In June, India imported 39.5 percent of its crude from Russia, which was only 0.2 percent in January 2022, before the beginning of the war between Moscow and Ukraine. India imported 16.1 percent of its crude oil requirement from Saudi Arabia and 18.5 percent from Iraq in June.

Russian Urals — the sour grade of crude — continues to constitute the majority of imports from Moscow. In June, India imported 1.37 million bpd of Russian Urals.

India imported a total of 4.54 million barrels of crude oil per day in June from Russia, Saudi, Iraq, US, UAE, and some other countries.