Russia’s oil exports to India are continuing without any hiccup as the nation’s users become more adept at arranging cargoes to feed burgeoning nationwide demand, according to the head of a giant new refinery project that’s backed by local processors and crude heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
(Bloomberg) — Russia’s oil exports to India are continuing without any hiccup as the nation’s users become more adept at arranging cargoes to feed burgeoning nationwide demand, according to the head of a giant new refinery project that’s backed by local processors and crude heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
“It is beneficial for everybody that the Russian oil doesn’t go out of market and it flows to some part of the world,” Mukesh Surana, chief executive officer of Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd., told Bloomberg Television. The crude is coming to India without much hassle “but there are ways and means to ensure that, if there are hassles, they can be taken” care of, he added.
India has emerged as a major market for redirected Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine, with western nations shunning its crude and refined products. In a bid to ensure that the oil keeps flowing to other nations but Moscow’s revenues are crimped, the US pioneered a mechanism to cap prices if users wanted access western services such as insurance. India said this month it would explore buying Russian crude oil near or past the cap if needed.
The majority of Russian oil that India buys is Urals grade, which comes from the west of the country, and is still below the price-cap level, Surana said. Payments can be made in different currencies including dollars, rubles and rupees, and at present, the situation has not triggered any concerns, he added.
Ratnagiri Refinery is building a 60-million-ton project on India’s west coast. The venture — which is not yet in operation — has been backed by state-owned refiners Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. are also partners.
Surana, a former chairman of Hindustan Petroleum, said oil demand would expand at a robust pace. Diesel consumption was up strongly this month on agricultural-sector demand and jet-fuel usage was also picking up, he added.
Imports of Russian oil hit a record of 1.65 million barrels a day in March, with refiners lapping up discounted barrels, according to Vortexa Ltd.
“India initially was not importing a lot of oil from Russia but of late, I think almost 30% to 35% of oil is flowing from Russian market,” Surana said.
–With assistance from Menaka Doshi, Haslinda Amin and Anand Menon.
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