India's Reliance resumes imports of Iraqi crude oil as Hormuz-discounted cargoes attract refiners

⑴ According to data from India's Reliance Industries Limited, its refinery in Jamnagar, western India, has resumed importing crude oil from Iraq, with a large tanker carrying 2 million barrels of cargo. The company had not purchased Iraqi crude oil for a month prior to this. ⑵ Sources indicate that Reliance has chartered at least three tankers to load crude oil from ports inside the Strait of Hormuz. Due to changes in the strait's situation, cargoes from this region are being offered at significant discounts, attracting refiners to increase purchases. ⑶ Data also shows that Reliance's crude oil imports in May declined by about 12% month-on-month to 1.15 million barrels per day, mainly due to scheduled maintenance on units at its domestic refinery with a daily processing capacity of 660,000 barrels. The related units have now resumed operation. ⑷ In terms of source structure, total imports from the Middle East in May were 435,000 barrels per day, a month-on-month decline of 10.1%. Imports from the UAE increased by 47.5% month-on-month to 369,000 barrels per day, making it the largest Middle Eastern supplier for the month. ⑸ Imports from Latin America fell by 26.1% month-on-month to 379,000 barrels per day. Venezuela remained a major supplier, but its imports declined by 17.9% month-on-month to 203,000 barrels per day. ⑹ Imports from CIS countries rose by 11.9% month-on-month to 244,000 barrels per day, with supplies from Russia remaining steady at around 214,000 barrels per day; however, this represents a year-on-year decrease of 58.8%, indicating that Indian refiners are still diversifying procurement channels to cope with price fluctuations caused by geopolitical changes.