Crude imports from Russia steady in Aug

INDIA CONTINUED TO be a steady importer of Russian crude in August despite heightened noise around the issue, particularly following the United States' late-July statement on enforcing secondary sanctions.

- ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ

As per data provided by global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler, the country imported 1.6 million barrels per day of Russian oil this month, largely unchanged from the last month. However, there has been a notable decline in Russian oil volumes from the peak of 2.1 million bpd purchased in June.

"So far in August, Russian crude imports into India have stayed relatively steady. But that's less a sign of defiance and more about timing—most of these cargoes were likely locked in weeks earlier, in June or July, well before any policy shifts came into play. If refiners do start to adjust their buying behaviour in response to sanctions talk, we probably won't see it reflected in the data until September or October arrivals," said Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining & Modeling at Kpler.