07/02/2024
1240 times read
07/02/2024
1240 times read
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 7: An Indian official confirmed that it is unlikely that his country will witness a major interruption in oil flows from Gulf countries, despite the escalating crisis in the Red Sea region, explaining that India has a strategy of increasing oil purchases from Middle Eastern countries while keeping Russian crude imports unchanged, which will help the country in trying to overcome the turbulent conditions in the global oil markets, reports Al- Qabas daily. He pointed out that India’s imports of crude oil shipped from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE were not affected by the recent Red Sea attacks.
As for Russian crude, India’s demand for it remains flexible despite the threats in the region. Standard & Poor’s quoted Gurmeet Singh, head of the Indian Petroleum Association, as saying: The global oil market fears the diversion of supplies through alternative routes and the rise in shipping costs, but the New Delhi government is monitoring developments and has confidence in dealing with this issue to ensure that crude is not interrupted from flowing to Indian refineries.
He added: Despite the escalation of fears of the Red Sea crisis regarding the diversion of supplies and the rise in shipping costs, it is unlikely that the delivery of oil shipments to India will be disrupted. Singh expected the demand for oil in India to reach 5.59 million barrels per day in 2024, compared to 5.37 million barrels per day in 2023, pointing out that the potential increase in demand is due to strong economic growth, as well as increased traffic and transportation and continued demand for crude in sectors.