India bets on Russian oil, fuel demand hits 24-year high Russian fuel demand hits 24-year record high in India

Russian Fuel Demand in India: Fuel (crude oil) demand in India hit a record high in at least 24 years in February. India’s February fuel consumption rose 5% to 4.82 million barrels pre-dated (18.5 million tons), its 15th consecutive year-on-year increase. who since 1998 Indian Ministry of Oil Data compiled by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) recorded the highest demand. Explain that this happens when industrial activity in Asia’s third-largest economy gets a boost from cheap Russian oil.

Victor Katona, chief crude analyst at Kepler, said the energy was driven by profitable refining from record Russian crude imports in February, overall consumption for primary distillation across India and domestic consumption still strong. Refiners in India, which once rarely bought Russian oil, have emerged as Russia’s top oil customers after the Western invasion of Ukraine last February blocked subsidized crude.

Indian refiners have reportedly started paying in UAE dirhams for most of the Russian oil they buy through Dubai-based traders in US dollars.

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This worry is putting businessmen in trouble

Traders worry they may not be able to settle trades in dollars, especially if Russian crude prices rise above caps imposed by Group of Seven countries and Australia in December. High oil prices have prompted traders to seek alternative payment methods, which could aid Russia’s efforts to de-dollarize its economy in response to Western sanctions.

The G7 price cap prohibits any Western companies, such as insurance and shipping service providers, from trading Russian crude if the purchase price at Russian loading centers exceeds $60 per barrel. Stop world trade This continues even as countries like China and India have oil embargoes. Indian refiners typically buy Russian crude from traders at prices that include delivery to India.

Benefiting from a discount of $15 per barrel

According to expert estimates, India currently enjoys a discount of around USD 15 per barrel to the price it pays for Russian crude imports. So, while acting in its own interest, India is following the G7 alliance policy by bargaining hard to get the lowest price possible, our G7+ partners are looking to reduce Russian revenues. India expects energy demand to grow by 4.7% in the next fiscal year.

Fuel demand may increase from April

India’s fuel demand is likely to grow by 4.7% in the next fiscal year starting April 1, according to government estimates issued on the website of the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), a unit of the federal oil ministry. According to government forecasts, fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, in 2023-24 is likely to rise to 233.8 million tonnes from a revised estimate of 222.9 million tonnes in the current fiscal year ended March.

Domestic demand for gasoline may increase by 7.1%

Domestic demand for gasoline, mainly used in passenger vehicles, is expected to grow by 7.1% to 37.8 million tons, while gas oil consumption is expected to rise by about 4.2% to 90.6 million tons, the data showed. Aviation fuel consumption is likely to rise 14% to 8.6 million tonnes for the year ending March 2023 against a revised estimate of 7.4 million tonnes.