An energy expert associated with Refinitiv, an international firm providing comprehensive insights on the oil market, has said that India's purchase of crude from Russia will continue to grow amid reports in the Western media that the demand has peaked.
Arpit Chandna, who specializes in oil and commodities trade, is of the view that Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases.
Arpit Chandna, who specializes in oil and commodities trade, is of the view that Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases.
His remarks come at a time when Moscow's contribution to New Delhi's crude basket has leaped to 46 percent, a staggering jump considering the figure stood at 2 percent before Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Chandna noted that although the discount factor in the prices as compared to the crude from other markets was narrowing down, it was still cheaper to be the choice of buyers.
Also, resurging demand for gasoline and diesel on a month-on-month basis in India would motivate refiners to process more crude.
Why Does India Opt for Russian Oil?
Chandna explained that the price of Russian crude, including the cost of transportation, was still cheaper than what is available from the Middle East nations.
"Thus, it is obviously an economically viable option for Indian crude buyers," he told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Chandna took aim at reports in a leading financial publication that claimed that Indian refiners had concerns over refining the Ural blends from Russia in the long term.
He pointed out that Ural processing requires a coking unit in refineries for the processing which is not available in all the state-owned refiners in India at present.
"But it doesn't have to be a reason to push off the Russian crude as the blending with other types of oil in storage can make it more palatable to refineries. Thus, there seems to be still a scope of nominal growth in crude intake from Russia around 0.2 to 0.4 million barrels per day as per industry executives," Chandna opined.
West Finding It Hard to 'Corner' India, 3rd Largest Oil Consumer
India is the third largest crude oil consumer and is upholding its right to secure cheaper crude supplies. Importantly, it is exporting refined products to the EU and other countries to meet their domestic demand.
Besides, Indian refiners are using the UAE's dirham to pay for oil and the lower freight cost for Russian crude, which was not the case in the past, making it an economical resort for Indian refiners to prefer discounted Russian crude.
Chandna underlined that given the way India is strategically managing its geo-political ties and foreign policy, it is difficult to corner the world's fifth largest economy.
"If done so, it would surely affect the market dynamics, especially in the times when the market is seeking a push in demand to recover and support the markets," he concluded.