India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) has awarded one-year import tenders for Iraqi Basrah Medium crude and Oman crude to Trafigura as Indian refiners adjust feedstock purchases away from Russia and toward the Middle East, according to Reuters on January 21.
From April, Trafigura is set to supply BPCL with four cargoes of Oman crude each quarter priced at a discount of 75 cents per barrel to Dubai quotes, and one cargo of Basrah Medium each quarter at a discount of 40 cents per barrel to the grade’s official selling price, two traders told Reuters.
BPCL is also seeking Murban crude from the United Arab Emirates under a separate tender, the sources said.
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Reuters added that Indian refiners have begun scaling back Russian oil purchases after discussions at a government meeting aimed at helping accelerate a US-India trade deal, and that India’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell has started collecting weekly data on refiners’ purchases of Russian and US crude.
State-run Hindustan Petroleum, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, and private refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy have already stopped buying Russian oil, Reuters said, adding that India’s Russian oil imports fell to their lowest level in two years in December while OPEC’s share of India’s crude imports hit an 11-month high.
The United States doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year, Reuters said, describing the move as punishment for India’s heavy buying of Russian oil.
Earlier, it was reported that the US president said India would stop buying Russian oil, while Indian officials did not confirm the move, and refinery sources warned an abrupt switch could disrupt global markets.
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