India’s Oil Imports Surge as Festive Demand Rises, Iraq and Saudi Exports Climb

NEW DELHI: India’s oil demand surged significantly in the month of September as the country ramped up crude oil imports from its traditional suppliers, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. India’s imports from Iraq and Saudi climbed by 16 percent and 37 percent, respectively, in the month, as per the data by energy cargo tracker, Vortexa.

As per the data, India imported 688,000 bpd in September from Saudi Arabia from 501,000 bpd in August, whereas Iraq supplied 894,000 bpd of crude oil in September against 771,000 bpd in the month of August.

“However, Russia still remains the country’s top crude supplier, with over 1.79 million bpd, accounting for 38 per cent of India’s total oil imports. Earlier in August, India imported 1.61 million bpd from Russia,” the data said.

India’s crude oil imports rose by 12.7 per cent in September, reaching 4.7 million barrels per day. The demand is expected to climb further with the festive season approaching, pushing Indian refiners to seek more supplies.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.37 per cent to $74.91 a barrel. The weak global oil demand, primarily from China, has weighed on prices with crude oil hovering at $72-$74 per barrel currently. However, expert said that the escalating tensions in the Middle-East has led to sharp jump in oil prices, but they believed the impact would be short-lived if the war does not spread to other areas.

India relies on imports for over 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. A drop in crude prices during the latter half of the year could benefit state-run oil marketing firms like Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) by boosting their refining margins due to reduced input costs. “It is also expected that lower oil prices would translate into higher margins’ for the leading refiners,” experts said.

Global oil prices have been highly volatile this year, breaching $90 per barrel in April due to geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, before plummeting to around $70-72 a barrel due to demand concerns from China. The benchmark Brent crude has been hovering around $70 a barrel for over a month now and slid to $69 on September 10, the lowest in three years.