Indian crude oil exports grow as EU eliminates Russia

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is creating opportunities for Indian refiners, especially in private sector companies. The reason is that European Union stopping importing of refined petroleum products from Russia creating a gap in demand and supply in the market, The Indian Express reported.

This situation is being optimised by the Indian refiners, who are trying to fill the gap. Analysts point out that Indian refiners who are obtaining discounted Russian crude oil, rejected by the EU and other Western powers are filling this gap by using the same Russian barrels. Basically, Russian crude oil is reaching the EU markets via India.

Also Read — India's Russian oil imports hit record high in February; now more than Iraq, Saudi put together

The data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) shows that after the European Union’s ban on Russian petroleum products on February 5, India has witnessed a rise in its refined products exports continuously for five months. The export touched 1.90 million tonnes in January, the highest figure in the first 10 months of the current fiscal in which around 15 per cent of the total petroleum products export were contributed to the EU.

After the EU's ban India’s refined products exports have risen from 16 per cent to almost 22 per recent. The DGCI classifies the data by accumulation data of petroleum product exports in 20 international regions. The EU is divided into three regions. European Free Trade Association and other European countries. Asia and Africa are divided into six and five trade regions respectively.
Analysts think that the EU ban on Russian crude oil will benefit export-oriented private sector organisations like Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy.
Vortexa data indicates that Indian import of crude oil from Russia has also increased after the EU ban on Russia after it invaded Ukraine. India has imported a record 1.62 million barrels per day of Russian oil in February registering a 29 per cent increase from January.

Russia has grown as the biggest source of crude oil supplier for India from a marginal supplier. The data shows that Russia is being preferred by Indian refineries over Iraq, Saudi Arabia which is at position two and three in largest sources of crude oil for India.