The blockage in the Suez Canal will now no longer impact India’s crude supplies. But if the disruption lasts longer than forty-eight hours, it can hurt fuel clients via way of pushing up tanker prices and hit export of petroproducts to Europe from Indian refiners.
Some 156 ships had been stuck withinside the canal in view that Tuesday after a container ship, Ever Given, ran aground on Tuesday. “There is no inbound Indian oil shipment withinside the gridlock,” an official dealing with oil shipments informed TOI asking for anonymity.
B Ashok, former chairman of India’s biggest refiner IndianOil and the current head of a proposed $70-billion Maharashtra refinery project, additionally doesn’t see a significant cause of the issue at this point. “More than two-thirds of our crude comes from the Gulf. Some shipments from Latin America or Central Asia may get delayed. But if the blockage lasts longer, then crude and tanker prices may be impacted,” he stated.
The delivery official stated about 5% of India’s crude imports come via the Suez. Even US crude is generally imported via the African sea path. “Only shipments from Ceyhan in Turkey would take longer if the blockage lasts long. If the blockade lasts beyond 48 hours, ships will need to take a longer path around Africa, requiring 7-10 days. This ought to result in a shortage of vessels.”
