State-run refiners could face margin pressure after the share of discounted Russian oil in India’s imports dipped to a year’s low in January. Volumes inched up from December, when fresh US sanctions were introduced, but were still 11 per cent lower in January than in November, according to ship tracking data and industry officials.
The share of state-owned oil companies, excluding joint-sector HMEL, in Russian crude imports shrunk to 41 per cent in January from 54 per cent in December, according to calculations based on Kpler data. The reduction in discounted Russian supplies will affect gross refining margins as cheaper crude contributes to the profits of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, refining officials say.