After IOC, HPCL buys 2 mn bbl Russian crude, MRPL seeks 1 mn bbl
After Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has bought two million barrels of Russian crude oil as Indian refiners stepped up efforts to secure Russian oil available at deep discounts. Just like IOC, HPCL also bought Russian Urals crude through European trader Vitol, sources with knowledge of the development said.
Separately, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has floated a tender seeking one million barrels of similar crude oil. Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has prompted many companies and countries to shun its oil. This has led to Russian crude being available in the market at deep discounts. To capture the opportunity, Indian refiners are floating tenders to buy such discounted oil. The tenders are mostly won by traders, who would have stocked inventories of the cheap Russian oil.
The sources said IOC, the nation’s top oil firm, late last week bought three million barrels of Urals through Vitol for May delivery at a discount of USD 20-25 a barrel to dated Brent.
