Daily Energy Report
US loses to Russia in India, difficulties halting aluminum imports from Russia, Aramco maintains oil supplies to Asia, Russian diesel exports reach Latin America, and more
CHART OF THE DAY: US Loses to Russia in India’s Oil Market
Summary:
India’s crude oil imports from the US plummeted in March as Asia’s giant oil consumer kept purchasing more Russian crude oil cargoes due to attractive discounts.
Since at least 2020, India’s imports of US crude have always been above 100,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to figures from data intelligence firm Kpler. Last month, however, such imports plunged to 98,000 b/d from around 232,000 b/d the previous month. In March 2022, India’s imports of US crude oil were at around 481,000 b/d.
Commentary:
The sharp drop in India’s crude imports from the US is due to the attractive offers Indian refiners are finding in Russian crude oil. Last month, India imported around 1.86 million b/d of Russian crude, a jump from 1.41 mb/d in January. More on this in the news section below and in our latest EOA newsletter published today.
It remains to be seen how the US administration will react to this, especially since the decline is the largest compared to other countries India imports crude from. Although imports from the US declined in the past, they recovered at a later stage.
Meanwhile, US crude oil exports have increased to a record high in recent months, a sign that the US may not have a problem selling its oil. However, this does not rule out the possibility of some US oil volumes remaining unsold in the future, leading to pressure on India.
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