India is largest supplier of refined fuels to Europe: Report

Europe’s dependance on Indian crude oil products has risen since the ban on Russian oil. Europe’s refined fuel imports from India are set to surge above 360,000 barrels a day, edging just ahead of those of Saudi Arabia, according to Kpler’s data.

However, this development is a double-edged sword for the European Union. On the one hand, the EU’s need for alternative sources of diesel after it has cut off direct flows from Russia, which was earlier its top supplier, which has ultimately boosts demand for Moscow’s barrels, and means extra freight costs.

It also means that more competition for Europe’s oil refiners which can’t access cheap Russian crude, and it comes amid wider market scrutiny about where the region’s diesel imports are coming from.

Russian crude oil arrivals to India are expected to surpass 2 million barrels a day in April, representing almost 44 per cent of the nation’s overall oil imports, according to Kpler data.

Russia emerged as a major supplier to India for the first time in FY23 after it started supplying oil at discounted rates amid the Ukraine war. Despite concerns raised by the West to India’s imports from Russia during the war. India has taken a strong stand and said that it looks at all options to achieve energy security.

Russia was the largest exporter of crude oil to India by value in February in spite of the western price cap of USD 60 per barrel, according to the data from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Crude imports from Russia in February stood at USD 3.35 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia at USD 2.30 billion and Iraq at USD 2.03 billion.

The price cap kept by the western countries was designed to limit Russian oil revenues while keeping the oil itself flowing to avoid a global price shock. (ANI)