Crude imports for the month were also 8.2% higher than in February, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Unit.
India’s fuel demand hit a three-year high in March, with gasoline sales at an all-time high. Demand increased and the market built up reserves ahead of the expected price increases.
“The increase in imports can be attributed to the recovery in demand; COVID restrictions have eased, there is a recovery in industry and the economy with the opening of schools, colleges and all institutions,” said Prashant Vasisht, vice president and co-head of corporate ratings at ICRA.
“In addition, Indian companies, both private and public sector, do not hesitate to buy and use the cheaper crude available in Russia.”
India has bought more than twice as much oil from Russia since it invaded Ukraine as in all of 2021, a time when Western sanctions prompted many oil importers to avoid trade with Moscow.
Imports of petroleum products increased by 9% month on month, but decreased by 9.5% compared to 2021, 3.62 million tonnes.
Exports of petroleum products climbed 10.9% from the previous year and of the total 6.74 million tonnes exported in March, diesel accounted for 3.37 million tonnes.
India – Asia’s third largest economy – has excess refining capacity and is a major exporter of refined fuels.
“A lot of European companies are choosing not to buy Russian crude and refined products. And even before the war there was a shortage of diesel stocks in Europe. an increase in commodity exports for India,” ICRA’s Vasisht said.
NOTE: Import and export data is preliminary as private refiners share figures at their discretion.
All figures are in millions of tonnes:
2022 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021
CRUDE OIL March Fv Jan March Fv Jan
IMPORTS 19.03 17.59 19.12 18.26 15.24 19.59
Imports:
2022 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021
March Fv Jan March Fv Jan
LPG 1.45 1.26 1.39 1.36 1.52 1.36
Gasoline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.13 0.08 0.12
Naphtha 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.03 0.10 0.05
Krosne 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Diesel 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.07
Fuel oil 1.05 0.94 0.82 1.11 0.79 0.38
All 3.62 3.32 3.43 4.00 3.36 3.05
Exports:
2022 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021
PRODUCTS March Fv Jan March Fv Jan
Petrol 1.60 1.22 1.08 1.29 0.88 0.89
Naphtha 0.79 0.44 0.51 0.80 0.55 0.60
Diesel 3.37 2.41 2.58 3.07 2.11 2.32
Heating oil 0.09 0.09 0.17 0.20 0.08 0.11
Jet fuel 0.62 0.41 0.45 0.41 0.43 0.30
All 6.74 4.86 5.07 6.08 4.15 4.43
NOTES:
Totals may not add up because not all items are included in the table and figures are rounded. Figures for previous months have been revised.