Share of Russian oil in imports up at 42% in June, Iraq supplies fall
Indian imports rose to 42% in June from 37% in May and was more than the combined share of the next four largest suppliers, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.
Crude imports from Russia jumped 13% in a month to 1.92 million barrels per day (mbd) in June. Russia's share in Indian imports exceeded the combined share of Iraq (16%), Saudi Arabia (8%), the UAE (8%) and the US (7%).
Supplies from Iraq dropped 22% in a month to 754,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and imports from Saudi Arabia fell 36% to 386,000 bpd. Supplies from the US, however, rose 63% to 330,000 bpd.
More crude oil from Russia was discharged in June at Indian ports than in China and Europe combined. Chinese imports of seaborne Russian crude fell 16% to 1.15 mbd and Europe's dropped 19% to 396,000 bpd. China and Europe also take Russian oil by pipeline.
«India's imports of Russian crude in June have reached the highest since last July, driven by weaker import appetite from China,» said Serena Huang, analyst at Vortexa. «With Russia's crude exports down nearly 5% month-on-month in June, arrivals into India could remain flat to lower in July.» It takes about a month for oil tankers loading at Russian ports to reach India.
Indian refiners find it attractive to buy Russian crude as it is available for a discount, which is around $3-4 per barrel on a delivered-at-port basis.
The current discounts, much narrower than $12-13 per barrel in the early days of the Ukraine war in 2022, are still attractive compared to competing supplies from the
