Russian crude displacement impacts Mideast producers

Flows of Urals crude to Asian importers—in particular India—have spiked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to price reporting agency GX

Additional supplies of Russian Urals crude have displaced some Mideast Gulf oil in Asia since the Ukraine invasion and encouraged more of those Mideast grades to go west to Europe, says Chen Ee Woon, energy analyst at price reporting agency General Index (GX). The flow of additional Urals crude to Asia is new, and India—which has not sanctioned Russian oil—is the largest buyer of those spot cargoes, he continues. India has taken around 40mn bl of Urals crude since the start of the war, GX data shows. By contrast, Chinese state-owned refiners are reportedly more risk-averse and not seeking more Urals supply, although GI says there is “market chatter” of independent Chinese ‘tea-kettle’ refine