State-run Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp is seeking additional oil for April from Middle Eastern producers over fears that Western sanctions against Russia could affect deliveries of Ural crude, a source familiar with the matter said. .
BPCL, India’s second largest state refiner, buys an average of two million barrels of Russian Urals every month, where the seller arranges for cargo and ships’ insurance. Oil is processed at BPCL’s 310,000 barrels per day (bpd) Kochi refinery in South India.
BPCL has booked 1 million barrels for shipment in March and 3 million barrels in April.
Traders are ready to meet existing commitments, but have told BPCL that they will not bid for supplies in future months, the source said, adding: “No one knows how the situation will be in April, so BPCL wants to be prepared.” Is.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, was met with widespread condemnation and a series of sanctions by Western countries.
The United States and its allies have targeted Russia’s central bank, top businesses, oligarchs and officials, including President Vladimir Putin himself.
The source said the Gulf producers have not committed to additional supplies for BPCL as the allocation for April loading is to be finalized next week.
The source said that BPCL also intends to draw from its reserves to meet any shortfall of Russian oil.
The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.
On Monday, the country’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said it would only accept Russian oil and Kazakhstan’s CPC blend on a distributed basis due to insurance risks. IOC last week bought Russian oil in a tender after a gap of two years.
India’s top lender State Bank of India has told customers that it will not handle business related to entities accepted in any currency.
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