India Pulls in Higher Russian Crude Volumes May m/m

Russian crude has become the major player in India driven by discount prices, with imports rising to 1.97 million bpd in May, up from 1.68 million bpd in April according to Refinitiv.

• Russia has 38.6% of India’s total 5.1mn bpd imports in May.
• Russian volumes are muscling out regular suppliers. India's imports from Saudi Arabia are expected at 570,000 bpd in May, down from 690,000 bpd in April and 850,000 bpd in March, while those from Iraq are likely to drop to 890,000 bpd in May from 900,000 bpd in April and 1.02 million bpd in March.
• Indian refiners are benefitting from both strong domestic fuel consumption as well as a firm export market to regions like Europe looking to replace lost imports from Russia because of sanctions.
• Questions have risen amongst G7 and EU leaders about Indian refiners buying cheap Russian oil and then producing refined products to send to Europe - but so far no restrictions have been proposed or are likely to be implemented.