Not only crude oil but also cheaper refined fuels from Russia are gaining ground in the Indian market since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February. Imports of Russian refined products have tripled in recent months from the preceding three-year average, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.
India's imports of Russian crude slowed a bit in July, dropping 5% to 917,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to Vortexa. With 1.06 million barrels per day (mbd), China remained the biggest importer of sea-borne Russian crude in July. Europe imported below 1.9 mbd of sea-borne Russian crude oil in July, marginally less than in the previous three months but took in 13% more diesel over the previous month.
Russian oil made up 19% of India's total crude imports in July compared with 20% in June. Rising Russian imports have displaced supplies from the Mideast Gulf, US and West Africa, with imports from these regions falling by nearly 20% in May-July over the first quarter of 2022, according to Vortexa analyst Serena Huang.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
