* India Sept oil imports down 18.7% from Aug, down 8.4% y/y
* Saudi pips Iraq as top oil supplier after 13-mth gap
* UAE 3rd biggest supplier followed by Nigeria, Angola,
Venezuela
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - India's oil imports fell to
their lowest in more than three years in September to 3.82
million barrels per day (bpd), data obtained from industry and
shipping sources showed, as some refiners cut purchases due to
shutdowns for maintenance and fuel upgrades.
Last month, Saudi Arabia replaced Iraq as top oil supplier
to India after a gap of about 13 months, the data showed.
September oil imports, which dropped below 4 million bpd for
the first time since June 2016, were about 18.7% lower than in
August and down 8.4% from a year ago, the data showed.
The fall in oil imports limited India's fiscal deficit
INTRD=ECI for September, but it also potentially points to a
general economic and industrial slowdown.
"Lower imports were largely due to refinery turnarounds as
refiners have to supply Euro VI fuels in the country from an
April 1 deadline. Heavy rains and slower industrial and
construction work drain down the demand for refined fuels," said
Ehsan Ul Haq, an analyst with Refinitiv.
For a table on shutdowns at Asian refineries see: REF/A
Falling industrial demand dragged India's fuel demand to its
lowest in more than two years in September. O/INDIA2
"Due to weakening fuel demand there was an inventory build
up of refined products so we had to cut crude processing and
restrict imports," said an official at one of the refiners.
Indian refiners' crude processing declined about 7% in
September from a year ago, government data showed on Tuesday.
O/INDIA1
SAUDI OUTSHINES IRAQ
Saudi Arabia supplied about 830,500 bpd oil to India in
September, compared with 821,000 bpd supplied by Iraq, the data
obtained from sources showed. The sources declined to be
identified.
India restricted imports from Iraq in September as it had
imported record volumes of Basra oil in August.
"By reducing their official selling price (OSP) Saudi
attracted more buyers compared to others, they continue to meet
the demand even after outages due to attacks on its two fields,"
Haq said. Saudi Arabia has cut its September OSP for its Arab Light
grade for Asia by $0.75/barrel compared to a $0.40/barrel
reduction in Iraq's Basra Light. The United Arab Emirates emerged as India's third biggest
supplier in September after a gap of seven months, knocking
Nigeria into fourth place, a position held by Venezuela in
August. The UAE was fifth biggest oil supplier in August.
Venezuela was in sixth place behind Angola as private
refiner Nayara Energy did not ship oil from the Latin American
country in September and instead discharged old cargoes, the
data showed.
Lower imports by Nayara had also dented India's overall
purchases in September, the data showed. "Any sustained decline in India's oil imports and fuel
demand might prompt global agencies to revise down their oil
demand growth forecast," Haq said.
OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have trimmed
their global oil demand growth forecast for 2019. The IEA
expects 2019 global oil demand growth to be the weakest since
2016, following evidence of a slowdown in economies including
Europe, India, Japan, Korea and the United States.
The IEA said India's oil consumption rose by 235,000 bpd on
average during 2014-18, nearly a fifth of the global total. The
growth could moderate to 170,000 bpd in 2019, the slowest since
2014, due to an economic slowdown, the IEA said.
Asia's third-largest economy expanded by just 5% in the June
quarter, its slowest pace since 2013. The country's central bank
has also cut its growth forecast for 2019-20 to 6.1% from prior
projection of 6.9%.