he United States overtook Saudi Arabia as India’s second biggest oil supplier after Iraq last month, as refiners boosted cheaper U.S. crude purchases to record levels to offset OPEC+ supply cuts, data from trade sources showed.
India’s imports from the United States - the world’s top producer - rose 48% to a record 545,300 bpd in February from the prior month, accounting for 14% of India’s overall imports last month.
Urals loadings from Primorsk are set at 2.2 million tonnes for February and exports from Ust-Luga are set at 1.2 million tonnes, according to the schedule.
Oil exports are set to decline amid a sharp cut in major oil company Rosneft's export plans for next month.
Saudi Arabia has played catch up as a supplier since November with steep cuts in prices to woo customers, overtaking Russia, which had led for most of 2020 with more flexible logistics and geographical proximity to Chinese refiners.