India's oil imports from Russia surge in November

India’s Russian oil imports experienced a rebound in November as several plants resumed operations following planned maintenance and fuel consumption increased during the Diwali festive season, according to preliminary data from ship-tracking firms Kpler and Vortexa. As the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil, India has increased its purchases of Russian oil, particularly at a discount after certain Western countries refrained from importing Russian oil due to its invasion of Ukraine last year. Data from Kpler and Vortexa revealed a 9% and 5% month-on-month increase in India’s Russian oil intake in November, reaching 1.73 million barrels per day (bpd) and 1.68 million bpd, respectively. The figures from both agencies included one cargo of the Kazakh CPC blend of crude, with Kpler estimating the volume at 27,000 bpd. Revised October imports from Russia were reported as 1.58 million bpd by Kpler and 1.6 million bpd by Vortexa. Although these imports are still below the peak of nearly 2 million bpd in May, the discounts have significantly narrowed. “India has been roaring back to strength ever since its autumn refinery maintenance period was completed by early November, so now almost every refiner is ramping up runs to satiate growing domestic demand,” Kpler’s crude analyst Viktor Katona said.“Urals delivered to India still comes in at around -$4 to -$5 per barrel to Dubai, so it maintains a competitive edge over term deals from the Middle East,” Katona added. Indian refiners mostly have annual contracts with key Middle East producers such as Saudi Arabia. Both agencies noted a more than 25% decline in India’s intake of Saudi oil in November versus October. December imports may come in around 1.7-1.8 million bpd or even higher, as diesel consumption in India reaches its seasonal peak, Kpler’s Katona said. However, the possibility of cargoes getting caught up in U.S. sanctions may limit refiners’ appetite, he added. The United States sanctioned three oil tankers that regularly shipped Sokol crude from Russia’s Far East to Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner in recent months. One of them, NS Century, is yet to discharge its cargo despite signalling earlier that it will offload it at Vadinar port in Gujarat on Nov. 25, LSEG and Kpler data showed. The tanker was last seen near Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to the data.