Gulf crudes make a comeback as Russian Urals grade turns expensive

Russian oil's share of India's overall crude imports down 8 percentage points in Oct amid lower discounts based ref than hok

- S DINAKAR

India's top refiners are continuing to lower their purchase of Russian oil as they see more value in converting Gulf crudes into fuels.

The share of Russian supplies in India's overall crude import basket dropped sharply to 35 per cent in October from 43 per cent in September, according to refining officials and trade data as on October 31.

Combined supplies from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the biggest suppliers of Gulf crudes, exceeded Russian deliveries for a second time in three months, according to ship-tracking data from Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler.

Russian crude supplies had exceeded combined Saudi-Iraqi shipments for much of 2023.

Moves by Washington to enforce sanctions strictly in October by opening investigations into two tankers transporting Russian oil led to concern in New Delhi, according to officials, in addition to surging prices of Russian export benchmark crude Urals, the mainstay for Indian refiners.

As a result, the composition of Indian purchases changed in October, with Gulf crudes making a comeback. Higher imports of crudes from West Asia have coincided with the prices of Urals rising to their highest this year.