INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Oil imports dipped to nine-year low in JuneIndia's oil imports fell in June, hitting their lowest since October 2011, as refiners curbed
purchases due to maintenance turnarounds and weaker fuel demand, data from industry sources showed
India, the world's third biggest oil consumer and importer, received 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in June, a decline of 0.4 per
cent from May and about 28.5 per cent from a year ago, the data showed
Last month, India did not import oil from Venezuela for the first time since June 2009, the data also showed.Refiners including Indian Oil
Crop, the country's top refiner, Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, and Bharat Petroleum Corp plan to
shut units for maintenance
Indian fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, typically tapers during the four-month monsoon season from June as rains hit construction
and transportation.In the first of half July, India's fuel demand slowed compared with the previous month due to high retail prices and
renewed coronavirus lockdowns in parts of the country.Private refiner Nayara Energy, part owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, last month
imported a cargo of Khafji oil from Neutral Zone, whose production belongs to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, making it India's first purchase
from the region since September 2015.In June, Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as top oil supplier after a gap of two months, while UAE and
Nigeria retained the third and fourth slots, the data showed.The United States was in fifth place, a position held by Venezuela in May.The
share of oil from the Middle East in India's imports rose to a seven month high of 67.12% in June, while imports from Latin America plunged
to their lowest in 11 years as India did not import Venezuelan oil which is facing U.S
sanctions.Nayara has halted imports from Venezuela while Reliance has obtained permission from the United States to resume imports from the
OPEC member in exchange for diesel.OPEC's share of India's oil imports surged to a five-month high in June although the group's overall
share of imports in April-June, the first quarter of 2020-21, continued to be the lowest since at least 2011.(Except for the headline, this
story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
