Indian Refiners Turn to West African Crude Amid Middle East Supply Disruptions
Indian state-run refiners are continuing to purchase crude from West Africa as the Middle East crisis reduces supply and creates delivery uncertainty, according to trade sources cited by Reuters on Thursday.
Read also: Shipping Industry Pushes Back Against Proposed Hormuz Transit Fees
HPCL secures Nigerian crude
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has acquired 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude from Shell through a tender, trade sources told Reuters. The purchase includes 1 million barrels each of the Forcados and Bonga grades, destined for HPCL’s Visakh refinery in Andhra Pradesh on India’s east coast. That refinery has a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
Earlier this week, reports indicated HPCL had also bought 2 million barrels of Okwuibome and Utapate crudes from Nigeria via a tender with commodity trader Glencore. That cargo is intended for the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), which has a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day. HPCL holds a 74% stake in HRRL, with the remaining stake owned by the Rajasthan state government.
Other refiners follow suit
Several Indian refiners have recently purchased crude from Oman and West Africa through tenders, as term supplies from the Middle East remain constrained by shipping issues at the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
State-controlled Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has acquired about 1 million barrels of Omani crude via a tender at a premium of roughly $3 per barrel to Dated Brent, with Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore as the seller, trade sources said earlier this week.
Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest refiner by capacity, has bought 4 million barrels of West African crude from Chevron, including Nemba, Saxi Batuque, and Clov grades from Angola, as well as Congo’s Djeno crude.
Indian refiners are seeking supply from as far as Angola and Venezuela because their Middle East term supplies were again trapped in July and failed to reach India as scheduled.
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