Almost Half Of India's Total Crude Oil Came From Russia In June, Imports From Saudi Arabia At Lowest In Decade

While India imported oil from Russia at a near-peak level in June, its oil imports from Saudi Arabia fell to the lowest monthly level in over a decade.

The highest-ever volumes of Moscow's key crude-grade Urals were imported in June because additional crude was available for export markets due to drone strikes from Ukraine on Russian refineries.

Moreover, discounted Russian oil wins against the Middle Eastern crude grades in terms of pricing. India has been receiving an increased volume of Russian crude since the Ukraine war.

A total of 2.13 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil was imported in June, which is the highest since May of last year, accounting for 45 per cent of India’s total oil imports for the month.

In contrast, only 0.41 million bpd crude oil was imported from Saudi Arabia, which is India’s third-biggest source market, marking a decline of over 25 per cent sequentially.

The second highest supplier to India was Iraq with 0.8 million bpd imports. Viktor Katona, head of crude analysis at Kpler, said that it shows much lower interest in Iraq’s medium sour grade, Basrah Medium.

"The heaviest Iraqi grade, Basrah Heavy, has been quite stable in terms of Indian interest. So, whatever competes with Urals seems to be losing out nowadays," Katona was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Urals is a medium-sour crude and accounts for major volumes of India’s oil imports from Russia. In June, Urals comprised three-fourths of the total Russian oil imports.