Indian refiner HPCL meets up to 23% of oil need with Russian grades

Indian refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd is meeting up to 23% of its oil needs through discounted Russian grades, its chairman Pushp Kumar Joshi said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

Indian refiners, which rarely used to buy Russian oil, have been snapping up discounted barrels after many Western countries shunned purchases from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

HPCL’s Russian oil intake is limited by the configuration of its refineries, Joshi said, but the company is maximising the use of these cheaper so-called opportunity crudes, he added, helping “ringfence” it from risks arising from high oil prices.