India’s crude oil imports from Russia slipped 23% in August from last month: Vortexa

India’s crude oil imports from Russia slipped 23% in August from last month

India’s crude oil imports from Russia plunged over 23 percent in August from the previous month, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

In August, India imported 1.46 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Russia, compared to 1.91 bpd in July.

This comes amid reports suggesting that discounts from Russia have come down, which have in turn resulted in the cost of oil going above the price cap of $60 per barrel. A Reuters report quoting a senior government official said Indian imports of Russian crude might reduce on account of declining discounts and payment problems, forcing refiners to boost supplies from other sources.

However, Russia still remained the largest supplier of crude oil to India in August, surpassing traditional suppliers including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia supplied 820,000 bpd of crude oil to India in August, an increase from 484,000 bpd in July. India imported 866,000 bpd of crude oil from Iraq in August, compared to 891,000 bpd in the previous month.

Starting July 2023, Saudi Arabia has implemented an additional production cut of one million bpd. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, commonly known as OPEC+, had in May cut oil production by 1.6 million bpd for 2023.

In the May cuts, Saudi Arabia had reduced supply by 500,000 bpd, while Iraq had cut over 200,000 bpd until the end of the year. Russia, which is part of OPEC+, had announced an extension of its production cut of 50,000 bpd till the end of 2023.

Russian Urals—the sour grade of crude—continues to constitute the majority of imports from Moscow. In August, India imported 1 million bpd of Russian Urals.

Russia has become a major source of crude oil for India ever since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and has overtaken Saudi Arabia and Iraq to become India’s top crude supplier. India has been importing the maximum crude oil from Russia since October 2022.

Moscow has been diverting its oil to Asian countries, especially India and China, at discounted rates ever since the European Union (EU) and the US imposed a slew of sanctions on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine. India has increased its share of Russian crude procured at discounted prices.

India’s total crude oil imports in August declined from July as the country imported 4.34 million bpd crude oil in August from 4.57 million bpd in the last month. India imported oil from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the US, UAE, and some other countries.