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News Excerpt:

The Netherlands, with its developed transit ports, continues to be the top destination for India’s petroleum exports.

Petroleum exports to the Netherlands:

• The Netherlands has become the primary hub for India's petroleum exports, during April-May 2024, India exported petroleum products worth $3.9 billion to the Netherlands. 
• It sold petroleum products worth $14.29 billion to the Netherlands during FY24.
• The Netherlands accounted for 25% of India’s total petroleum product exports during April 2024.
• The Netherlands' developed port infrastructure and strategic location make it an ideal distribution hub for petroleum products in Europe.
• Its role as a potential intermediary helps circumvent direct sanctions on Russian oil products, allowing refined Indian products (potentially derived from Russian crude) to reach European markets.
• The dramatic increases in diesel (1152.5%) and ATF (480.6%) exports from FY2021 to FY2024 coincide with Western sanctions on Russia.
• India has effectively filled a supply gap in the European market created by these sanctions.

India's refining capacity:

• India's position as a key Asian refining hub is supported by its substantial installed capacity of nearly 250 million tonnes per annum across 23 refineries.
• This capacity allows India to process large amounts of crude oil into various petroleum products for both domestic use and export.

India's petroleum export strategy:

• India has capitalized on the geopolitical situation arising from the Ukraine war by purchasing discounted crude oil from Russia.
• This strategy involves buying crude at lower prices, refining it in India, and then exporting the processed products at competitive rates.
• This approach has allowed India to expand its export market for refined petroleum products significantly.
• The 7.6% year-on-year increase in total petroleum product exports demonstrates India's growing role in the global oil market.

Global oil market:

• The 14% increase in Brent crude prices since January 2024 indicates a tightening global oil market.
• This price increase could potentially impact India's crude oil import costs but also increase the value of its petroleum product exports.

Regional export trends:

• Petroleum exports to Europe, and ASEAN regions rose, while exports to South America, Africa, North East Asia and Oceania saw a decline in value terms.

India's oil imports:

• Russia continued to be the top oil supplier to India, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia during May. 
• India's oil imports from Russia rose to a record of about 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in May as discounts for Russian oil widened on lower demand from China.

Conclusion:

These developments highlight India's growing role in the global oil market, its strategic use of geopolitical situations to its advantage, and the increasing importance of the Netherlands as a distribution hub for Indian petroleum products in Europe.