India bought record amount of Russian oil

In June, India purchased Russian oil in the amount of 2.13 million barrels per day, which was the second highest indicator in the entire history of observations. The record was set in May 2023, when the volume of supplies reached 2.15 million b/d.

Imports of the Urals crude oil increased by 13% year-on-year, reaching 1.6 million b/d, which became a new historical high. At the same time, the supply of Far Eastern grades of oil decreased compared to last year's figures. ESPO imports decreased to 103 thousand b/d (107 thousand b/d a year earlier), and Sokol supplies decreased by almost half to 51 thousand b/d (152 thousand b/d a year earlier).

Viktor Katona, head of Oil Market Analysis at Kpler, noted that Urals is more suitable for Indian refineries, which are among the most advanced in terms of refining. 

In addition, price plays an important role. ESPO is sold at a discount of $1 per barrel to Brent, while the Urals is consistently cheaper by $2-3 per barrel. At the same time, Urals supplies are larger, and this grade of oil is not as actively purchased by China as ESPO.