India raised its purchases of Russia’s Far East crude mix ESPO within the first seven months of the 12 months as China backed out of the spot market within the first months of the Iran conflict and deliveries to India from the Center East slumped with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Whole exports of the ESPO grade from Russia’s Far Japanese port of Kozmino rose by 6% in January-July from a 12 months earlier, Russian every day Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing a report by Argus.
China remained the important thing purchaser of ESPO crude, however its share of the shipments from Kozmino fell to 83% from 88%. On the identical time, India’s share of the ESPO exports elevated to 16% to 12% within the first seven months of 2026, per information from Vortexa and Kpler cited within the report.
India raised its ESPO imports as a consequence of the slump in Chinese oil imports between Could and June, and the provision disruptions within the Center East, which delayed many time period cargoes Indian refiners had been anticipating within the early summer season.
The rise in Indian ESPO imports are as a consequence of logistics causes and the Chinese language pullback between April and June, based on Dmitry Prokofiev, director of exterior communications at NEFT Analysis.
ESPO stays a key feedstock for China’s impartial refiners, the so-called teapots, because of the top quality and quick supply occasions, Prokofiev instructed Kommersant.
Indian refiners, however, see the ESPO mix as a back-up choice as a result of prices and supply occasions are larger than for his or her most popular Urals mix from Russia.
India raises ESPO imports solely when China retreats or when provide disruptions happen, based on Prokofiev.
Analysts say that India isn’t consuming into China’s ESPO share, it has simply picked in latest months volumes that Chinese language refiners wouldn’t purchase due to the slashed whole crude oil imports.
In the meantime, India’s crude oil imports from Russia are estimated to have eased in August from July’s file excessive, as Ukrainian assaults on Russian export infrastructure and competitors from China for Russia’s barrels have dented Indian consumption of Moscow’s oil.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
