Crude oil buys from US surge to 27-month high

India's crude oil purchases from the US surged to its highest in 27 months in April as state-run oil companies pressed the pedal on sourcing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US projects.

- S DINAKAR

This came even as New Delhi raced to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with Washington, industry sources said and ship-tracking data showed.

State-run oil companies are leading the charge for New Delhi by increasing US energy purchases — after private refiners turned more cautious, weighing profitability and margins, industry officials said.

Initial trade numbers spell it out. State-run refiners, led by Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum, accounted for over 70 per cent of US crude to India in April at 336,000 barrels per day (bpd), with Reliance Industries accounting for the rest, initial estimates from ship-tracking data, accessed by Business Standard, show.

State refiners opt for higher quality, more expensive grades, while Reliance buys cheap, discounted oil with higher sulphur content.

US oil purchases averaged 466,000 bpd this month until Wednesday, according to estimates by Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler. Kpler's algorithms predict May volumes at around 370,000 bpd, though it is a bit early to call. This compares to 289,000 bpd of US crude oil imports in March — 61 per cent lower than April. India imported as much as 592,000 bpd in February 2021 during Trump's first term, ship data showed.