Indian diesel flows head to Southeast Asia away from Africa: tracking data

Indian exports of diesel to Southeast Asia have reached their highest level since May 2025, driven by strong Asian differentials amid the war in the Middle East, tracking data showed March 17.

Indian loadings of diesel for Southeast Asia reached 251,000 metric tons in the week ended March 15, the highest since the week ended May 4 when the country sent 369,000 mt of product, Kpler data showed.

On a monthly basis, loadings for Southeast Asia have reached 454,000 mt so far in March, more than the combined January and February loadings of 358,000 mt.

Exports to Southeast Asia have accounted for 49.9% of all Indian diesel exports so far this month -- the highest share since October 2018, when India sent 50.6% of its diesel/gasoil to that region.

With East of Suez regions pulling more Indian product, other importing regions need to find alternative suppliers.

Loadings for West Africa plummeted from 580,000 mt in January and 183,000 mt in February to none in March. The same trend was observed for East Africa, which accounted for 28.7% of Indian exports in February but 0% so far this month, Kpler data showed.

The outbreak of the war in the Middle East caused some cargoes to be rerouted to Asia, away from Europe and Africa.

The Brest (IMO 9941867), which loaded at Jamnagar on Feb. 23, initially headed toward the Cape of Good Hope, indicating Rotterdam as the destination via AIS. But on March 6, as it approached Tanzania, it turned East and was approaching Indonesia as of March 17, Kpler data showed.

In West Africa, the gap left by the redirection of Indian barrels is being partially filled by Russia. In February, 480,000 mt of Russian diesel/gasoil arrived in WAF -- the highest since May 2025, when 576,000 mt of product discharged. In March, at least another 446,000 mt of Russian diesel/gasoil is expected to arrive, according to Kpler data, making it the second-largest volume since May 2025.