* Latin America's share in India's oil imports lowest in a
decade
* India did not import Venezuelan oil, first time since June
2009
* Made first import of oil from Neutral Zone since Sept.
2015
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters) - India's oil imports fell in
June, hitting their lowest since October 2011, as refiners
curbed purchases due to maintenance turnarounds and weaker fuel
demand, data from industry sources showed.
India, the world's third biggest oil consumer and importer,
received 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in June, a
decline of 0.4% from May and about 28.5% from a year ago, the
data showed. Last month, India did not import oil from Venezuela for the
first time since June 2009, the data also showed.
Refiners including Indian Oil Crop IOC.NS , the country's
top refiner, Reliance Industries RELI.NS , operator of the
world's biggest refining complex, and Bharat Petroleum Corp
BPCL.NS plan to shut units for maintenance. REF/A REF/OUT
Indian fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, typically
tapers during the four-month monsoon season from June as rains
hit construction and transportation.
In the first of half July, India's fuel demand slowed
compared with the previous month due to high retail prices and
renewed coronavirus lockdowns in parts of the country.
O/INDIA2
Private refiner Nayara Energy, part owned by Russian oil
major Rosneft ROSN.MM , last month imported a cargo of Khafji
oil from Neutral Zone, whose production belongs to both Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait, making it India's first purchase from the
region since September 2015.
In June, Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as top oil supplier
after a gap of two months, while UAE and Nigeria retained the
third and fourth slots, the data showed.
The United States was in fifth place, a position held by
Venezuela in May.
The share of oil from the Middle East in India's imports
rose to a seven month high of 67.12% in June, while imports from
Latin America plunged to their lowest in 11 years as India did
not import Venezuelan oil which is facing U.S. sanctions.
Nayara has halted imports from Venezuela while Reliance has
obtained permission from the United States to resume imports
from the OPEC member in exchange for diesel. OPEC's share of India's oil imports surged to a five-month
high in June although the group's overall share of imports in
April-June, the first quarter of 2020-21, continued to be the
lowest since at least 2011.
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Key oil suppliers to India https://tmsnrt.rs/39nxDFt
Share of OPEC in India's oil imports https://tmsnrt.rs/3ePd5Xf
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