INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
India's oil imports are set to recover in June 9 (representational image)New Delhi: India's oil imports in May hit the lowest since October
2011 as refiners with brimming storage cut purchases after a continuous decline in fuel demand, preliminary data obtained from industry
In May, India imported 3.18 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, a decline of about 31 per cent from April and about 26 per cent from a
year ago, the data showed
Hit by an unexpected fall in demand due to lockdown measures to contain the novel coronavirus, Indian refiners in April filled tanks with
cheaper oil, sold extra cargoes to the federal government for strategic reserves and declared force majeure on crude imports.The refiners,
which normally book cargoes one-to-two months in advance, also deferred some term cargoes scheduled for lifting in April.In May, Saudi
Arabia was the top oil supplier to India for a second consecutive month, although supplies from the kingdom declined by nearly 28 per cent
from April, the data showed.India's oil imports from Iraq fell 43 per cent to about 554,000 bpd, the lowest since October 2016, the data
compiled by Reuters showed.The intake of Venezuelan oil in May fell to the lowest since June 2011
Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, received 2 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.Another private
refiner Nayara Energy, part-owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, did not import from the Latin American nation in May, under pressure from
the US sanctions against Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA.Venezuela and other producing nations in a grouping known as OPEC+ have
agreed output cuts to try to stabilise international oil markets.Oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a
share of India's imports fell to an all-time low of 71.3 per cent, while the share of US oil hit a record high of nearly 8 per cent in
May.India's oil imports in June are set to recover as refiners have raised crude processing and demand is recovering with the gradual
resumption of transport and industrial activity.
