The UAE, led by Abu Dhabi, has lost its position as India’s biggest supplier of the refined crude oil product naphtha as discounted Russian cargoes flood the market.
Naphtha has many uses including as a precursor to gasoline and other liquid fuels, and as solvents or diluents for paints and the rubber industry.
India is Asia’s seventh biggest importer of naphtha, having imported 3 million tonnes in the previous 12 months.
According to ship-tracking data from OilX and Kpler, the UAE’s share of India’s naphtha imports – primarily supplied by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) – has dropped to just over 20 percent from close to 40 percent a year ago.
By contrast, Russia’s share of India’s naphtha imports has grown by 15 percentage points to more than 50 percent now, the data show.