India’s crude oil imports hit record high in April 2024 amid rising demand

India’s crude oil imports during April 2024 rose to their third highest level on record as supplies have risen to meet the domestic demand for auto fuels as well as for export opportunities in the northern hemisphere ahead of the summer travel season.

The world’s third largest energy consumer India,  imported 21.4 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil last month, a growth of 3 per cent M-o-M and 7 per cent Y-o-Y. Inbound shipments of the critical commodity rose for the third consecutive month during April, according to Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) data.

Earlier, Indian refiners imported an all-time high of 21.6 MT in April 2022, followed by 21.5 MT in January this year.

 

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The import-export trade volume has been usually pre-dominated by Russia which ultimately increases its share in total imports to 40 percent from roughly 30 percent in March 2024.

Brent crude oil prices averaged $90.15 per barrel in April 2024, up from $85.48 in March 2024 and $84.94 a year ago. The Indian basket crude price averaged at $89.46 a barrel last month, up from $84.49 in March 2024 and $83.76 in April 2023.

As per the oil PSU Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) , the Russian supplies have moderated, compared to FY24. The oil marketing company (OMC) said that discounts have almost halved to $3-6 per barrel, from an average of $8-10 during FY24.

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Consequently, India’s oil import bill rose last month. The net import bill for oil and gas rose from $10.1 billion in April 2023 to $12.3 billion in April 2024. Crude oil imports constituted $13 billion, LNG imports $1.1 billion and exports were $3.7 billion in April.

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