Whist this year’s surge in Chinese imports of Russian crude has not come at the expense of Gulf suppliers (MEES, 23 September), this cannot be said about India.

Unlike in China, where Russia already vied with Saudi as top supplier before this year, in India Russia has come from nowhere to challenge Iraq and Saudi Arabia for top spot. Whilst the latest Indian import stats for August show Russian volumes slightly down from the record near-1mn b/d figures recorded in June and July, Russia continues to push Iraq close. (CONTINUED - 342 WORDS)