There was a 14% sequential increase in India's import of refined products from Russia in May, while crude imports remained steady, reports Economic Times on Tuesday.
Refined product imports surged to 164 thousand barrels per day (TBD) from 144 TBD in April, driven by higher imports of naphtha which more than tripled to 77 TBD, as reported by energy cargo tracker Vortexa.
Fuel oil and naphtha are the primary refined products imported from Russia, according to Serena Huang, an analyst at Vortexa. State-run refiners, responsible for about a third of Russia's product imports, increased their imports by 77% in May.
India is a significant importer of crude oil, including LPG, fuel oil, and bitumen. It exports refined products, mainly diesel, petrol, and jet fuel.
In May, India imported 1.7 million barrels per day of crude from Russia, a slight decrease of 1.5% compared to April. However, Russia's share of Indian imports marginally dropped to 37.9% in May from 38.1% in April.
"Russian crude remains attractive to Indian refiners, amid tight Middle East sour crude supplies. With Russian crude exports declining this month amid the restart of domestic refinery capacities, we could expect lower arrivals into India in the months ahead," Vortexa’s Huang stated.
India's crude imports from Iraq in May increased by 16% to 935 TBD, while those from Saudi Arabia decreased by 10% to 606 TBD. Iraq's share of Indian crude imports expanded to 20.6% from 17.6% in April, while that of Saudi Arabia declined to 13.3% from 14.7%. The UAE's share increased to 7.5% from 7%, and Africa's share increased to 7.4% from 7%.