India's Russian crude imports may hit record 3m barrels per day: Here's why

India’s crude oil imports from Russia may even touch a new record high of 3 million barrels per day if the shipment disruptions through Strait of Hormuz and even Red Sea continue, according to a Kpler analysis.Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider has said that India’s reliance on Russian crude oil remains very high.“Russian crude remains India's strongest supply hedge, and imports could potentially rise toward or even above 3.0 mbd if market conditions and Russian export availability permit,” Sumit Ritolia, Lead analyst, Modelling and Refining at Kpler has said.Impact of Red Sea DisruptionsIf shipping through the Red Sea remains unaffected, Indian refiners will continue to have an important supply cushion through Saudi Arabia's East-West (Yanbu) pipeline, which has recently been supplying around 300,000-500,000 barrels per day (kbd) of crude.However, if the security situation worsens and Red Sea supplies are disrupted during August, refiners will have to replace…