OPEC crude share in India’s oil imports dropped in August to 59.8%, the lowest in at least 16 years, as refiners in recent months gorge on Russia and Kazakhstan crude, data obtained from trade and industry sources showed.

The share of OPEC oil in India’s August crude imports might be the lowest ever as monthly crude imports by country before July 2006 are not available. India’s oil imports in August declined 4.1% to 4.45 million barrels per day from the previous month, while they rose in April-August by nearly 18.2% on the low base of last year when the second deadly wave of coronavirus infections had hit fuel demand, the date showed. India, which imports about 85% of its oil needs, has been diversifying its suppliers as local refiners upgraded plants to process cheaper heavier crude grades, denting the share of OPEC’s oil in its crude diet. The refiners, which rarely used to buy Caspian sea oil, have jacked up imports of Russian oil this year, sold at a discount, after some entities shunned purchases from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)