Indian refiners may face a windfall this year from falling Urals oil rates even as US levies sanctions on Russian firms. Will motorists benefit?
India's annual consumption of refined fuels and petrochemicals is expected to rise steadily by 4-5 per cent and 7-8 per cent in the 'foreseeable future'
Attacks in the Red Sea have driven up freight rates, while tougher US sanctions have stranded some Russian cargoes destined for India, adding to costs
So far this month, the mostly private processors took an average of 168,000 barrels a day of Sokol, three times more than January's pace and well ahead of the 53,000 barrels in 2023
Houthi attacks on Russian crude deliveries coincide with escalating US actions on ships carrying such crude, leading to double trouble for India
Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, and Bharat Petroleum Corp, are looking at lifting an additional 1 million barrels of oil each from Saudi Aramco in February, the sources said
Higher discounts on Russian oil this month may help Indian refiners reduce crude sourcing costs and trim fuel marketing losses even as Brent crude crosses $95/barrel, weakening the country's finances
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India is the world's third-largest crude oil consumer and imports more than 85 per cent of its oil needs
In March, crude oil processed at 23 million tonnes was the highest since Reuters records going back to 2009
In short, India's energy security and the
Refiners have jumped on to the bandwagon of opportunistic buying of heavily discounted Urals crude, which could, ironically, make the country Europe's refining hub
India has already bought more than twice as much crude from Russia in the two months since its invasion of Ukraine on Feb.
If Europe adopts official sanctions on Russian crude and fuel, prices will likely surge, and India could profit even more from refining Russian oil to fuels it then sells to Europe for more money.
State oil producer Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, has raised crude prices for all regions, with those to Asia hitting all-time highs
Nayara operates the 400,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Vadinar refinery in India's western Gujarat state and has a fleet of about 6,500 retail fuel stations in the country.
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Kuwait has extended oil supply contracts for Indian refiners by three months to March 2022 due to a delay in the commissioning of its 615,000 barrel-per-day Al-Zour refinery, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Analysts assess current global demand for crude oil at 94 million barrels per day, around 6 mbpd lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Iranian oil coming into the market will not just cool prices but also help India diversify its import baskek
The world's third largest oil consumer and importer halted imports from Tehran in 2019 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 accord