Oil imports: Mangalore refinery to explore US oil for supplies beyond Iran
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), which imports a fourth of its annual crude oil requirement from Iran, is exploring the option of long-term contract with the US apart from increased sourcing from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait and west African countries, given imports from the sanction-hit country will have to be stopped starting May 2.
“Going forward, we will explore import options from the US by evaluating the economics of handling US crude,” said M Venkatesh, managing director at MRPL, adding that all options are open and the company will opt for the most viable option.
In 2017-18 crude processed by MRPL, a subsidiary of ONGC, stood at 16.31 million tonne. The company has an annual deal to buy 4.5 million tonne of oil from Iran with an option to buy an additional 1 million tonne.
