India’s imports of Russian crude oil jumped by 90% in March versus February, following the major supply disruption in the Middle East and the U.S. waiver of purchases of Russian crude already loaded on tankers.
Following subdued purchases between November and February, India’s imports of Russian crude soared last month by 90%, although overall Indian crude imports slumped by 15% due to the de facto closed Strait of Hormuz, The Times of India reported on Friday, citing data from Kpler.
While crude supply to India from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plunged in March compared to February, deliveries from one of Africa’s top producers, Angola, tripled, although the share of Angolan crude remains small, the data showed.
Some supply from the Middle East did reach India, thanks to Saudi Arabia and the UAE re-routing exports to ports sitting outside the Persian Gulf and not necessitating transit through the Strait of Hormuz. These workarounds, however, are insufficient to compensate the supply lost to the de facto closed critical oil chokepoint.
“There are early signs of flows being negotiated on a bilateral basis, with Iran reportedly granting passage to countries such as India and Thailand,” Kpler’s Fred Asiedu said earlier this week.
“This may allow selective access to MEG cargoes, but without consistent tanker movement it is difficult to argue that the Strait is meaningfully open.”
Since the U.S. waiver on purchases of Russian crude on tankers, India refiners have snapped up dozens of millions of barrels of the oil as key supplies from the Middle East are trapped.
By the middle of March, India was winning the competition with China to attract Russian crude cargoes with vessels turning mid-voyage away from their previous Chinese destinations and heading for India.
Russia and India are competing for millions of barrels of Russian crude that had accumulated on tankers early this year, when most buyers outside China steered clear of Russian barrels because of the U.S. sanctions and the U.S. pressure on India to slash Russian oil imports.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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