Indian refiners stock up Urals crude oil before Russian supply cut

Import of this grade of crude jumps 14% in a month to record high

Indian imports of Urals grade crude oil from the Russian Federation climbed 13-14 per cent month-on-month to a fresh high in July, according to ship tracking and Russian government data. But there has been a cloud over supplies in August with Russia  cutting its oil export.      

Urals oil — high sulphur, sour grade of petroleum — accounted for 76 per cent of India’s overall Russian purchases in July and a third of its total crude oil purchases, at 1.58 million barrels a day (bpd), loading data from Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler shows. India’s crude imports in July were