New Delhi: OPEC’s share of India’s oil imports is set to fall at the fastest pace in 2022/23 to the lowest in at least 22 years as cheap Russian oil soars, data from industry sources show, and major producers share This year it may be less.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, saw their share of India’s oil market rise to 59% in the financial year to March 2023 from about 72% in 2021/22. A Reuters analysis of 2001/02 data shows.
The data showed Russia overtook Iraq to emerge as the top oil supplier to India for the first time, pushing Saudi Arabia to No.3.
OPEC’s share shrunk as India, which rarely bought Russian oil in the past due to high freight costs, is now the top oil customer for Russian marine oil, which has been seized by Western countries after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. was rejected. (Graphic: Part of OPEC) India’s oil imports fall to record low, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/INDIA-OIL/jnpwybeogpw/Pasted%20image%201682075448316.png)
India will export about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in 2022/23, the data showed, about 23% of its total 4.65 million bpd imports.
The decision by OPEC and their allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, to cut production in May could further reduce OPEC’s share in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, if it ends this year. Russian supplies continue to grow.
“Russian crude is already cheaper than similar Middle Eastern grades and it looks like OPEC is hurting itself by cutting production,” said Ehsan Ul Haq, analyst at Refinitiv.
“It will further reduce its market share in Asia.”
The overconsumption of Russian oil raised the share of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries to a record 26.3%, and reduced that of Middle Eastern and African countries to 22-year lows of 55% and 7.6%, respectively. (Graphic: Shuffle oil trade route, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/INDIA-OIL/znvnbneowvl/Pasted%20image%201682075212215.png)
In 2021/22, the Middle East’s share was 64%, while Africa’s was 13.4%, the data showed. Latin America’s share falls to a 15-year low of 4.9% in 2022/23.
India’s oil imports in 2022/23 are set to rise 9% from a year earlier, as state refiners turned to exports rather than selling the fuel domestically at below-market rates to meet rising local fuel demand. Scored runs to complete, as the statistics show.
Government data shows, local refiners together will process about 6% more crude in 2022/23 at about 5.13 million bpd. [O/INDIA1] (Graphic: India’s oil imports from different regions, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/INDIA-OIL/lgpdkawbovo/Pasted%20image%201682075887078.png)
In March, India exported nearly 5 million bpd of oil, marginally higher than the previous month, with Russian oil accounting for about 36% of total imports, the data showed.
“Russia is also being helped by OPEC’s decision to cut production,” Huq said.
The price of some Russian cargoes is rising to more than $60 a barrel – a limit imposed by the Group of Seven nations, the European Union and Australia to curb Moscow’s revenues while allowing traders access to Western ships and insurance Has been.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Florence Tan and Sonali Paul)
Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically from Reuters news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.
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