* India's Oct oil imports at 4 mln bpd, highest in 6 mths
* Refiners boost Mideast imports as producers cut OSPs
-analyst
* Imports from Middle East up 27% m/m, African intake down
39%
* Latin American imports up 89% on higher Venezuelan
shipments
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - India's oil imports from the
Middle East hit an eight-month high in October after producers
reduced official selling prices (OSP) while its purchases of
African crude fell to a three-month low, data obtained from
sources showed.
Refiners in India, the world's third biggest oil importer
and consumer, have diversified crude imports to improve margins.
Middle Eastern oil imports in October rose 27% from the
previous month to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) while
African imports declined 39% to 439,300 bpd, the data showed.
Imports from Latin America rose 89%, due to higher purchases
of Venezuelan oil by Reliance Industries RELI.NS . "Middle Eastern producers had cut October OSPs to regain
market share, resulting in higher flows to India, where refiners
were raising runs expecting higher fuel demand ahead of the
festive season," said Ehsan Ul Haq, an analyst at Refinitiv.
He said compared to other grades Middle East oil yields more
fuel oil, cracks for which have been recovering from
mid-October.
Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS , the country's top refiner, is
operating its plants at 100% capacity, IOC Chairman S.M. Vaidya
said recently. India's October fuel consumption - a proxy for oil demand -
rose above pre-pandemic levels for the first time in eight
months. O/INDIA2
India's overall oil imports rose 16.5% from the previous
month to 4.05 million bpd in October, the data showed.
The share of OPEC oil including supplies from the Neutral
Zone, whose production belongs to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, fell
slightly to 75%, putting its average share for the first seven
months of this fiscal year to March at 74.5%.
Last month Iraq remained the top oil supplier to India
followed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Nigeria.
Kuwait which was the 10th largest supplier in September, rose to
fifth followed by Venezuela and the United States.
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Opec's share of India's oil imports https://tmsnrt.rs/3pTKBm2
India's oil imports from key suppliers https://tmsnrt.rs/2UWjVTn
Share of various regions in India's oil imports https://tmsnrt.rs/3odhqte
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