India’s oil imports from Iraq surged to a record high in August as refiners replaced costly African imports with cheaper Basra crude, tanker arrival data obtained from industry and shipping sources showed. The world’s third biggest crude oil importer shipped in about 1.32 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi oil last month, about a third more than July and 29 percent higher than August 2018, the data showed. African crude imports fell 18.3 percent to 764,500 bpd as prices for heavy sweet crudes from Angola, Cameroon and Chad - sought by China’s so-called teapots (small refiners) and major refiners ahead of IMO 2020 - rose. Production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela tightened heavy sour crude supplies, also enabling Iraq, OPEC’s No. 2 producer, to gain market share in India. “In the spot market, Saudi and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) barrels are not available while Iraqi oil was easily available in spot markets at attractive prices, prompting refiners to maximize purchases of Iraqi oil,” said Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul-Haq. He said Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has been selling oil through spot tenders as it boosts output. SOMO sold July-loading Basra Heavy crude at a lower premium to the grade’s official selling price (OSP) through tenders. Iraq held its position as the top oil supplier to India followed by Saudi Arabia, the data showed. Iraq has been pumping 4.8 million bpd in recent months instead of its target of 4.5 million bpd, while Saudi Arabia has been producing below the targets. India’s overall imports during August were about 4.7 million bpd, same as in the year ago month, the data showed. Indian refiners, like their global peers, are preparing to maximize production of very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) to supply ships from 2020.