(ET)
Indian refiners do not see an immediate disruption in crude supplies after the drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facilities on Saturday, though prices may witness a short-term spike. A delayed restoration of the damaged facilities may, however, trigger a search for alternative supplies.
The drone attacks by West Asian rebel groups have hit 5.7 million barrels per day of production, which represents nearly half of the kingdom’s output and 6% of global crude supplies. This has raised supply risk as well as price risk for refineries across the world, including India, which imported about 19% of its crude from Saudi Arabia last fiscal. Indian Oil, India’s largest refiner, is watching the situation closely.
