India’s export of petroleum products in April declined by 22% to 1.12 million barrels per day against 1.44 million barrels per day in March, according to data from global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler. On an year-on-year basis, exports fell over 7% from 1.20 million barrels in April 2024.
The United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Netherlands emerged as the top destinations for the country’s petroleum products exports last month. However, exports to all three countries declined in April.
While exports to the UAE declined by 33% to 114,000 barrels per day in April against 170,000 bpd in March, that to Singapore registered a decline of 17% to 107,000 barrels per day from March. The Netherlands also saw a decline of 4% to 120,000 barrels per day sequentially in April.
“Diesel continued to dominate India’s clean product outflows, with the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and East Africa emerging as the top destinations, while gasoline volumes primarily flowed toward Malaysia and Indonesia,” Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining & Modeling at Kpler said.
India primarily supplies petroleum products to countries in Europe and Asia. The country has emerged as a major fuel supplier to Europe in the past few months after European countries started boycotting Russian supplies post its invasion of Ukraine.
Looking ahead, Kpler estimates India’s refined product exports to stay resilient if not super strong, supported by strong refining margins.
“We anticipate a temporary decline in crude processing volumes of around 250,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2025, as refiners such as Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corp, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals commence planned maintenance,” Ritolia said. “However, export volumes are expected to remain strong, even if they do not match the February peak,” he added.
A more substantial increase in crude processing is expected toward late 2025 or into 2026, as several brownfield expansions currently underway—at Koyali, Barauni, and Panipat—begin to come online.
The country exports a variety of goods via the Red Sea including petroleum products. However, the traffic diversion from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope owing to geopolitical tensions over the region has added ten days to Asia-Europe journeys while also increasing fuel costs, the government had earlier said.
While exports to the traditional destinations declined last month, the country’s refined oil products exports to the US increased by 53% to 89,000 bpd in April. The two countries have recently agreed to strengthen their energy ties and trade.
While the US imposed reciprocal tariffs of 26% on India, some goods including energy and other certain minerals have been exempted from the tariffs. The exemptions come as a relief to the energy markets with Indian exports of petroleum products likely to witness a muted impact, industry players say.