India cuts Middle East oil imports as it seeks to diversify energy sources
South Asia
India, the world's third-largest oil importer, has considerably curtailed its imports from the Middle East as a means to diversify crude sources.
According to tanker information presented by trade sources, the share of Middle Eastern crude in India's oil imports fell to a 25-month low in May, as refiners sought alternatives in response to the government's request to diversify supplies.
According to the report, the Middle East's share fell to 52.7 percent, the lowest since April 2019 and down from 67.9 percent in April, reports Khaleej Times.
Lower Middle East oil purchases dragged Opec's share of Indian oil imports to a new low.
The data indicated that imports from Saudi Arabia, India's second-largest supplier after Iraq, declined by roughly a quarter year on year, while shipments from the UAE, which fell to No. 7 from No. 3 in April, dropped by 39%.
To replace Middle Eastern oil, Indian refiners increased imports from Latin America, the United States, and the Mediterranean.
"Indian refiners bought higher volumes of gasoline-rich US oil in March, expecting a recovery in local gasoline demand to continue in the months ahead," said Ehsan Ul Haq, lead analyst for oil research and forecasts at Refinitiv.
According to analysts, India had directed refiners to diversify crude sources after the Opec and its allies ignored New Delhi's call to ease supply curbs.
Asia's third-largest economy imported about 4.2 million barrels per day of oil in May, just below the previous month but about 31.5 per cent higher than a year earlier, the data showed.
US and Canadian oil accounted for about seven per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, of India's imports compared to 4.5 per cent and 0.60 per cent a year earlier. The US emerged as the fifth biggest supplier to India, up two places from 2019-20.
Iraq remained India's top oil supplier in the Middle East followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Nigeria replaced Venezuela as the nation's fourth-biggest supplier.
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