Page 114 - bneIntelliNews monthly country report Russia May 2024

China received a record 430kbd of Russian Far East Sokol crude in March, as Chinese refiners expedited the discharge of stranded Sokol cargos carried on sanctioned vessels within the waiver period granted by Washington. Meanwhile, Indian refiners retreated from purchases amidst tighter US sanctions, diverting more March-loaders to China.
The heavy discounts on Sokol barrels attracted new buyers, including some state-run refiners, keen on the light-distillate-rich grade to augment gasoline production in April, anticipating driving spikes during the Chinese Memorial Day holiday and upcoming Labor Day Golden Week holidays.
India's Russian oil imports rose by more than 7% in March from February as refiners snapped up cheaper oil, data from trade flow tracking agencies Kpler and LSEG shows. Refiners in India have been gorging on Russian oil since the West shunned purchases form Moscow and imposed sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The data shows that Russia continued to be the top oil supplier to India followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, cut monthly purchases from Saudi Arabia in March and raised those from Iraq, the data showed. Because of the challenges posed by sanctions, India's Russian oil imports are expected to decline in coming months. The nation is set to receive about 1.25mn barrels per day in April, a drop of about
While Indian refineries announced the halt of operations with sanctioned Sovcomflot, other UAE registered companies tied to Russia immediately entered the market to substitute Sovcomflot’s shipments to India.
Stream Ship Management Fzco (UAE) is actively entering the Indian market by buying out Oil Tankers Scf Mgmt Fzco tankers.
Star Voyages Shipping (UAE) sold its all fleet to another UAE company One Moon Marine Services Llc.
A newly established Alhadi Marine Services (UAE) purchased almost all tankers of Radiating World Shipping Servs (UAE).
All tankers of these companies navigate with no International Group P&I insurance.
Over the period from January to March 2024, KazTransOil (a subsidiary of KazMunayGas) shipped 2.507 million tons of Russian oil to China compared to 2.396 million tons over the same period last year (+4.6%), the company told Kursiv.
«In the first quarter of 2024, KazTransOil shipped 2.507 million tons of Russian oil to the People’s Republic of China via the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline. In Q1 of 2023, the company shipped 2.396 million tons of Russian oil to the PRC
114 RUSSIA Country Report May 2024 www.intellinews.com