By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Middle Eastern producers Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait will raise crude oil supplies to India in December as Indian refiners seek alternatives to Russian barrels, sources at four Indian refiners said on Tuesday.
The rise in Middle East crude demand comes as many Indian refiners pause purchases from Russia due to tightening Western sanctions, enabling OPEC producers to regain market share in the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer.
Britain, European Union and the U.S. last month designated Russian top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil, triggering immediate trade disruptions as sanctions fears drove away buyers in India and China.
Indian refiners have received the full allocations of oil in line with their requests from the two largest OPEC producers, the sources said.
At least one refiner will get a higher monthly supply from Iraq and compared with the previous month, the sources added.
Saudi Aramco has also raised supplies to another refiner, one of the sources said.
Saudi Aramco declined to comment. Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kuwait Petroleum is also supplying more crude to Indian refiners in November and December, another two sources said.
One of the refining sources said Middle Eastern suppliers are flush with oil, and the suppliers are providing access to that as well.
Indian refiners are also seeking more supply after Saudi Aramco and SOMO lowered official selling prices.
Since the latest round of sanctions, Indian refiners have snapped up crude from the Middle East, Iraq and the United States in the spot market.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Kim Coghill and Louise Heavens)
