India’s crude oil imports in March rose 9% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, continuing to tap into Russian supply to cater to robust consumption in the world’s third largest oil consumer.

Crude imports rose to 20.73 million tonnes from 19.29 million tonnes in February and 19.03 in 2022.

The March imports are the penultimate step in the build-up to April, when imports are projected to reach all-time highs, buttressed by refinery utilisation rates still at maximum capacity, said Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler.

Russia emerged as a top oil supplier to India on an annual basis for the first time in 2022/23, relegating Iraq to the second spot followed by Saudi Arabia, data obtained from industry sources showed this week.

This has also helped India’s refiners boost exports of diesel and jet fuel to Europe as the continent shunned Russian products, leading to global diesel margins slumping by about half since February.

Exports rose to 6.01 million tonnes, rising month-on-month, with diesel accounting for 2.48 million tonnes, the highest since September 2022.

“With the monsoon season approaching, the government seeks to maintain high levels of refinery utilisation and product exports,” Katona added.

India holds surplus refining capacity and exports refined fuels as well.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Arpan Varghese; editing by Eileen Soreng and Louise Heavens)