Indian refiners boost fuel exports to Western nations by 43% in September

Fuel exports to Western nations surge 43%

Shipments of refined petroleum products from facilities processing Russian crude to Western nations reached €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in September, a 43 per cent jump compared to August. The surge highlights India's expanding role as a key hub in global energy refining and international trade flows.

According to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Western nations increased their purchases of oil products from refineries in India, Turkiye and Brunei that process Russian crude. The European Union was the largest buyer among these nations, importing €667 million worth of products.

CREA estimated that €295 million of the total exported products were refined directly from Russian crude.

Reliance Jamnagar refinery leads European shipments

India’s private refining major Reliance Industries played a central role in meeting Western fuel demand. Its mega-refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat supplied six of the seven oil product cargoes unloaded at European ports during September. Jamnagar also led exports to the US, accounting for €122 million in shipments.

Between July and September, Russian crude made up 32 per cent of total crude intake at the Jamnagar facility. Among the EU destinations receiving Jamnagar cargoes, Italy took three shipments, Romania received two, while Spain and Cyprus took one each. Overall, exports reported as destined for EU ports from refineries processing Russian crude rose 80 per cent in value, including a 104,000-tonne gasoil cargo bound for Rotterdam.

Domestic refinery intake shifts amid lower crude imports

While outgoing refined fuel shipments reached record levels, India’s overall imports of Russian crude declined by 13 per cent in September to reach their lowest volume since April.

The drop in crude imports was recorded across several major domestic facilities:

• Jamnagar refinery reduced Russian crude intake by 27 per cent.
• Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Paradip refinery lowered intake by 21 per cent.
• Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery saw an 8 per cent decrease, though it overtook Jamnagar as India’s largest single importer of Russian crude for the month.
• HMEL Mundra Oil Terminal and the Kochi refinery cut imports by 74 per cent and 32 per cent respectively.

Conversely, IOC’s Mundra Oil Terminal recorded a fresh intake of 570,000 tonnes of Russian crude after receiving none in August.

India maintains crucial position in global energy trade

Despite the monthly decline in raw crude purchases, India retained its position as the world's second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September, purchasing €4.1 billion in total hydrocarbons. Crude oil accounted for €3.6 billion of this total, with coal (€309 million) and refined oil products (€161 million) making up the balance. Since December 2022, India has absorbed 37 per cent of Russia’s crude exports.

Energy market analysts at Kpler stated that the dip in India's Russian crude imports was driven by tighter global supply and strong competition from Chinese buyers, rather than diplomatic pressure from Western capitals. Urals crude traded at an average of $90.70 a barrel in September, maintaining a $23 discount against Brent crude. Indian refiners have leveraged this cost structure alongside world-class infrastructure to keep international markets supplied with essential fuel products.