In August, India’s demand for Russian oil temporarily decreased due to the monsoon season. India, which is the world’s third-largest oil consumer, reduced its imports from Moscow for the third consecutive month, down to 1.57 million barrels a day. This marked a twenty-four percent decrease from the previous month and the lowest import levels since January.
Additionally, Indian refiners reduced their shipments from Iraq, another major supplier, by ten percent in August, bringing the daily imports to 8,48,000 barrels. Some of this reduction was compensated for by a notable increase in imports from Saudi Arabia, which surged by sixty-three percent to 8,52,000 barrels a day.
As reported by ETEnergyworld.com, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., with a daily capacity of 3,01,000 barrels, significantly lowered their imports, while Reliance Industries reduced their purchases from the usual average of 1.2 to 1.3 million barrels to 1.1 million barrels a day, as they planned to shut down a crude distillation unit in September.
It’s expected that India’s overall crude oil imports, which declined by 7 percent in August to 4.35 million barrels a day, will rebound from October onwards, as product demand is anticipated to increase in the fourth quarter.
