Oil imports from Russia to India hit new peak – 3 million barrels of oil a month in… roubles!

Reliance Industries has signed a one-year deal with Russia’s Rosneft to buy at least 3 million barrels of oil a month in roubles, ‘Financial Express’ informs.

Russia exported 1.96 million barrels of crude oil per day to India last month, up 3% from the previous month, the data showed. However, it is still lower than the 2.15 million barrels per day the country imported in the same period last year.

Russia is the largest supplier of crude to India, Kpler’s lead crude analyst Viktor Katona noted. This is despite the narrowing discounts by the country on the crude oil it supplies.

“As India’s imports of Russian barrels usually edge higher into the spring months as there’s more crude available, May marked the fifth consecutive month-on-month increase in imports,” Katona said.

Among Indian refiners, Indian Oil Corp bought the largest volumes of Russian crude oil at 447,986 barrels per day, followed by Reliance Industries which imported 385,786 barrels per day of Russian oil.

IOC is the only refiner to previously have a long-term supply with Russia but the contract has expired in March end and has not been renewed yet. Now, according to reports, Reliance Industries has signed a one-year deal with Russia’s Rosneft to buy at least 3 million barrels of oil a month in roubles. Roseneft’s deal with RIL may limit cargoes for supply to IOC if the deal is renewed at all, analysts note.

“We see Russian refinery runs moving up to 5.7 mbd in July-August, taking place just as Russia’s OPEC+ voluntary production cuts start to materialize. Then, come September, Indian refiners will start their usual autumn refinery maintenance programme, the biggest of the year, meaning imports would be constrained by how much India can actually refine,” Katona said.

…Interfax reports: India plans to import 3-5 million tons of wheat in 2024 from Russia. This was stated by the Chairman of the Indian Association of Producers and Importers of Grains and Legumes, Bimal Kothari, at the All-Russian Grain Forum held in Sochi.