Indian refiners will ask for extra Saudi oil after a sharp price cut
The IOC is looking for more oil from Saudi Arabia and West Africa, partly because it is having trouble buying Russian light-sweet crude Sokol due to problems with payments, one of the sources said | Photo: Bloomberg
Two Indian state refiners are trying to boost imports of Saudi crude after the kingdom cut the official retail price of its key export grade for February to the lowest in 27 months, company sources said.
Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest refiner, and Bharat Petroleum Corp each want to get another 1 million barrels of oil from Saudi Aramco in February, the sources said.
Saudi Aramco typically notifies Asian buyers of their monthly crude oil allocations by the 10th of each month.
Indian oil companies did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment, while Saudi Aramco declined to comment.
The IOC is looking for more oil from Saudi Arabia and West Africa, partly because it is having trouble buying Russian light-sweet crude Sokol due to problems with payments, one of the sources said.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, has been gorging on Russian crude, which was sold at a discount after Western countries shunned purchases from Moscow.
That led to Russia becoming India’s top oil supplier, pushing Iraq and Saudi Arabia into second and third place, data obtained from trade sources showed.
Washington last month sanctioned ships and ship operators for selling Russian oil above the $60 per barrel limit set by the Group of Seven countries and tightened rules, including increased supervision by banks and service providers to ensure the cargo does not exceed the price. cap.
As a result of the sanctions, several tankers meant to deliver crude from Sokol to India have been diverted over the past two months, causing India’s Russian oil imports to fall to an 11-month low in December.
Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently said the decline in Indian imports of Russian oil was due to unattractive prices and not payment problems.
The IOC received six to seven shipments of Sokol oil every month under its annual agreement with Rosneft.
The refinery could request additional supplies under its forward agreements with West African producers Nigeria and Angola to make up for the loss of Russian oil supplies, the source said.
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First print: January 10, 2024 | 8:15 am IST