Saudi oil supply rebound gives India bargaining power

A resurgence in Saudi Arabian supplies of crude oil to India coupled with an attack on an Iraqi tanker in August carrying crude to Europe may result in improved bargaining power for India with West Asian and Russian suppliers for winter supplies.

- S DINAKAR

Shipments of Saudi oil rebounded in September from August, surging to the highest since March while Russian oil shipments rose marginally as Saudi Arabia tried to claw back market share in Asia, according to industry sources and ship tracking data.

Saudi Arabian supplies to India surged by 40 per cent to 727,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month from August and by 53 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from market intelligence agency Kpler. Saudi shipments may continue to be strong this month after Riyadh slashed premiums on its grades to Asian buyers, an Indian refining official said.

The resurgence in Saudi shipments is remarkable given that supplies had plunged to over a two-year low in June at around 425,000 bpd when rival Russia had increased shipments to over 2 million bpd, a near record, ship-tracking data shows. Attempts by Saudi Arabia to regain market share also dovetails with reports that Riyadh plans to focus on volumes rather than on premium pricing.

"The rise in imports comes amidst limited supplies from Russia, and stronger import demand to ramp up refinery runs," said Singapore-based Serena Huang, head of Asia-Pacific market analysis, at market intelligence agency Vortexa. India's imports of Saudi crude totalled 735,000 bpd in September, up 46 per cent from August, according to Vortexa.