|
MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s crude oil
imports in December soared to the highest levels in nearly three years to more
than 5 million barrels per day (bpd) as its refiners cranked up output to meet a
rebound in fuel demand, reported Reuters
with reference to data from trade sources.
A boy walks past an oil
tanker train stationed at a railway station in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of
New Delhi, India, February 1, 2019.
India’s year-end rush for crude
supplies coincided with stronger demand from north Asian buyers during winter,
boosting prices and an accelerating de-stocking of floating storage
globally.
December oil imports by India, the world’s third biggest crude
importer and consumer, were about 29% more than the previous month and about
11.6% higher than a year earlier, the data showed, after fuel consumption rose
for a fourth straight month to an 11-month high in December.
“India’s
refinery utilisation rates are also nearing full capacity and probably refiners
are replenishing inventory anticipating higher prices during winter,” said Ehsan
Ul Haq, analyst with Refinitiv.
“This is the harbinger of a recovery in
fuel demand and improving refining margins.”
However, India’s annual
crude imports declined by about a tenth in 2020 from the previous year to 4.04
million bpd, the lowest in five years, data compiled by Reuters
showed.
The share of India’s imports from the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries, including supplies from the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral
Zone, fell to a record low of 67% in December. OPEC’s average share for the
first nine months of India’s current fiscal year which ends in March was about
74%.
OPEC's share of India's oil imports drop to record low
While
India cut back imports from Middle Eastern, African and US oil in December from
the previous month, it marginally lifted its intake of Latin American and
Caspian Sea oil.
In December, Iraq remained the top oil supplier to India
followed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. Nigeria emerged as the fourth
biggest supplier, pushing the United States down to the sixth position just
after Brazil.
As MRC informed
before, India’s Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said in
mid-December, 2020, the demand for chemicals and petrochemicals is expected to
rise 9% annually, and the size of the industry is likely to grow to USD300
billion by 2025.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing
polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report,
PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and
reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the
greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia
increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months
of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase
in imports. |
