Russian oil supplies to India recover in March, sources say
The recovery of Russian oil flow to the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer is easing a supply crunch and cooling prices for rival Middle East grades. Russian oil supplies to India and China fell sharply earlier this year following U.S. sanctions on January 10 that targeted producers, insurers, ships and middlemen to curtail Moscow's oil revenue.
In March, India's imports of Russian oil, mainly Urals crude, are back at 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd), after falling to 1.1 million to 1.2 million bpd in the previous three months due to concerns about sanctions, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.
Freight rates for tankers on a one-way trip from Russian western ports to India hit a 12-month high of $8 million, attracting more ships to provide service while also squeezing Russian oil sellers' revenues, the sources said.
A decision by Turkey's largest oil refiner Tupras to halt Russian oil imports also freed up more supplies for Asian markets, they added.
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Turkey's Russian oil imports fell to 127,000 bpd so far in March from about 300,000 bpd before the January sanctions hit, Kpler data showed.
Discounts for Russian oil have narrowed to between $2.60 to $2.80 per barrel to dated Brent for cargoes loading in March for April delivery to Indian ports compared with about $2.50-$3 per barrel in the previous month, the sources said.
Some traders have told Indian refiners they would use western ships to deliver cargoes to avoid risking sanctions, the sources said.
Another source said that