It was Russian — it became Indian: diesel from Russian oil bypasses American in the EU

Imports of Russian oil to India are growing as well as exports of Indian petroleum products to Europe. The main product of processing, which goes to another part of the world, continues to be diesel fuel. Despite the fact that tankers are forced to bypass the Red Sea around Africa, diesel purchases by EU countries increased by 21%. In terms of volumes, Indian suppliers have bypassed American ones.

The supply of pure petroleum products from India to Europe has increased again. According to Bloomberg, citing Kpler data, exports in September rose to 1.5 million barrels per day. The agency links the growth in the supply of diesel fuel, gas oil and aviation kerosene with the shutdown of some European refineries for preventive maintenance.

From 2023, after the EU ban on the import of oil and petroleum products from Russia, India has become one of the main suppliers of fuel to Europe. The country's refineries have not been able to replace Russia in the market, but the purchase of Russian oil at a discount has allowed them to export impressive volumes to EU countries, the supply of which continues to grow.

The main product is diesel fuel. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry of India, diesel exports to the European Union have grown above 69 million barrels in seven months. Most of them were imported by the Netherlands, which is an international center for the trade in petroleum products. The country accounted for almost 82% of purchases — 56.5 million barrels. Over the year, the growth was 21%.

This is followed by France, which increased purchases by 1051% to 8.86 million barrels. Belgium and Romania share the third place — more than one and a half million barrels. The latter resells part of the volumes on Ukraine.

Based on the volume of consumption in the EU in 2022, according to the FuelsEurope association, the share of Indian diesel may be 6-6.5%.

Diesel deliveries from the USA to Europe also show growth, but cannot keep up with Indian ones. According to the Information office of the US Department of Energy, 43.7 million barrels of distillates were delivered to European countries in January-June 2024. Information is published for six months, but one month, judging by the dynamics, will not allow American refineries to bypass Indian ones.

The growing export of petroleum products from India to Europe is taking place against the background of the complication of its delivery. Due to the shelling by the Houthis in In the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, tankers take a longer route — bypassing Africa.

Diesel deliveries to Europe brought $ 6.8 billion to Indian refineries in seven months. However, this is only 12% more than in January-July 2023. The margin of Indian refineries is declining both due to rising costs and lower discounts on Russian oil and fuel prices in Europe.

The main suppliers of Indian diesel to Europe are private Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, whose shareholder is Rosneft.

The growth of diesel imports to the European Union has stabilized prices in the region. According to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the first half of September, the price of diesel fell to 632 euros per ton — the lowest level since December 2021.

Last year, the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell was outraged by the growth in the supply of Indian petroleum products from Russian oil to Europe. However, this does not violate the sanctions, and the threats remained only threats.