Russia supplied more than half of India’s crude oil imports in June, with shipments surging 39% month on month to 2.61 million barrels per day, even as the country’s overall imports remained nearly flat at 4.98 million bpd, the highest June volume on record.
Russian crude accounted for 52.4% of India’s total imports during the month, up sharply from 37.7% in May, when supplies stood at 1.87 million bpd out of total purchases of 4.97 million bpd, according to data from commodity intelligence firm Kpler.
The 735,000-bpd increase in Russian supplies was more than the entire rise in India’s overall imports, which increased by just 14,000 bpd, or 0.3%, from May. Excluding Russia, imports from all other suppliers fell nearly 23% to 2.37 million bpd, from 3.09 million bpd a month earlier.
Geopolitical Shocks
“Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries, along with subdued crude appetite from China, have made more Russian barrels available for India to consume,” said Nikhil Dubey, senior refining analyst at Kpler.
The sharp rise strengthened Russia’s position as India’s largest crude supplier and helped refiners offset lower volumes from several traditional sources, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the US and Angola.
Displacement of Traditional Gulf Suppliers
The United Arab Emirates remained the second-largest supplier, though shipments declined 22% month on month to 502,000 bpd, from 644,000 bpd in May.
Venezuela emerged as the third-largest source after supplies, including 66,670 bpd routed through the Bahamas, rose 33% to 354,440 bpd, from 266,060 bpd in the previous month.
Saudi Arabian shipments fell 15% to 296,870 bpd, while imports from Brazil declined 21.5% to 226,100 bpd.
India’s five largest identified suppliers, Russia, the UAE, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, together shipped 3.99 million bpd, accounting for about 80% of total crude imports. Their combined supplies increased 16.6% from 3.42 million bpd in May, driven almost entirely by the rise in Russian and Venezuelan barrels.
“Over the past 100 days, India has arguably been one of the best-positioned major importers, successfully maintaining crude inflows through proactive diversification and procurement strategies,” said Sumit Ritolia, senior manager for modelling at Kpler.
India imported 4.93 million bpd in June, the highest June volume on record, despite heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, he said.
“At the same time, Russian crude imports climbed to around 2.6 million bpd, reaffirming Russia’s position as India’s largest and most important crude supplier,” Ritolia said.
The ability to sustain record import levels while increasing purchases from Russia underscored Indian refiners’ success in diversifying supplies and managing refinery economics, he added.
Combined shipments from Saudi Arabia and the UAE fell nearly 20% to about 799,000 bpd, from 993,200 bpd in May. Russian supplies alone were more than three times the combined volumes received from the two major Gulf producers during June.
