India surpasses China to become Russia's top oil buyer in July

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India overtook China as the world's biggest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data shows.

Russian crude made up a record 44% of India's overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago, data on Indian shipments from trade and industry sources shows.

That surpassed China's July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million bpd via pipelines and shipments, based on Chinese customs data.

Indian refiners have been gorging on Russian oil sold at discounts after Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow and curtailed their energy purchases in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"India's requirement for Russian oil is going to go up as long as there are no further tightening of sanctions," an Indian refining source said.

India's trade with Russia has increased since Russia began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 mainly because of oil and fertilizer imports, a move helping to keep a lid on global prices and controlling inflation.

India's rising purchases are changing the flow of Russian ESPO Blend crude from traditional Chinese buyers to South Asia. ESPO imports to India jumped in July to 188,000 bpd as larger Suezmax vessels were used, according to the data.

Refiners in northeast China are typically the biggest ESPO buyers because of their proximity, but their demand has fallen because of tepid fuel demand.

Iraq continued to be the second-largest oil supplier to India last month, followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

India's crude purchases from the Middle East rose 4% in July, pushing up the region's share in India's overall mix to 40% from 38% in June, the data shows.