New Delhi: India’s crude oil imports surged to 4-year high in March. As per data released by intelligence firm Kpler, crude oil imports rose to 5.2 million barrels per day in March. This is the highest level since early 2020. Imports were 11% higher than February volumes and up 4.5% from 4.9 million barrels a day in March 2023.
India’s crude oil imports from Russia rose to 1.8 million barrels per day in March. This is highest after the July of last year. Imports were, however, slightly down from 1.87 million barrels per day in the same period a year ago.
‘India’s strong crude imports is partly a signal of refiners ramping up runs, although we have also seen a slight uptick in the country’s onshore crude inventories this month. India’s imports of Russian crude will likely remain robust in the near-term,’ said Serena Huang, analyst at Vortexa.
Russia’s share in total imports to India has come down to 34.5% in March from the earlier peak of 45% in May 2023 when the purchase volume stood at 2 million barrels per day. Russia’s share has however increased from 32.5% in February.
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Imports from Iraq too surged significantly from last month registering an increase of 66% to 1.3 million barrels per day. Iraqi imports in March were the highest since 2020. While March saw a decline of 18% in Saudi Arabia oil imports at 701,514 barrels per day from February, imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew 39% to 435,283 barrels per day, highest ever since June 2022.
Prior to the Ukraine conflict, in fiscal year 2021-22, Russian oil accounted for only 2% of India’s total oil imports, with Iraq being the top supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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