According to data from Refinitiv Eikon, the first cargo from new oil producer Guyana to the world’s third-largest crude importer, India, arrived this month from a production facility off the South American nation’s coast in a vessel chartered by trading company Trafigura. After OPEC+ agreed this month to extend production cuts through April, India has urged refiners to speed up the diversification of imports to reduce their reliance on Middle Eastern crudes, according to two sources. After OPEC+ agreed this month to extend production cuts through April, India has urged refiners to speed up the diversification of imports to reduce their reliance on Middle Eastern crudes, according to a few sources.
As OPEC’s share in India’s oil imports fell to historic lows between April 2020 and January 2021, the refining powerhouse began with preparations to import Guyanese crude while renewing a key supply contract between top refiner Indian Oil Corp Ltd and Russia. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Sea Garnet set sail on March 2 with a 1-million-barrel cargo of Guyana’s Liza light sweet crude bound for India’s Mundra port, where it is expected to arrive around April 8. Trafigura is the cargo’s charterer, according to Eikon reports.
The crude onboard the Sea Garnet was initially assigned to New York-based Hess Corp, one of the companies producing crude in Guyana alongside Exxon Mobile Corp, and shipped to Trafigura, according to Guyana’s natural resources minister, Vickram Bharrat, who told Reuters this month. Bharat stated that he was unaware of the ultimate buyer of the cargo. Hess and Trafigura all declined to comment on business matters. According to tanker-tracking data, Guyana’s crude has primarily flowed to the United States, China, Panama, and the Caribbean since it started exporting crude in early 2020.
India used to be a major importer of Venezuelan oil, but since 2019, tight US sanctions on the South American nation have reduced the amount of oil, that India can purchase, if it is approved at all. Due to Washington’s suspension of oil-for-fuel swaps between state-run PDVSA and Reliance Industries Ltd since October, India did not receive any Venezuelan crude imports in February for the third month in a row. In February 2020, Venezuelan oil arrived in Indian ports at a rate of 371,300 barrels per day (bpd). Canada, the United States, and Mexico, in addition to Russia, have achieved market share by importing heavy crude grades to India.
