BPCL Turns to Middle East for Russian Oil Replacement

30 Dec 2024 , 01:36 PM

In a recent interview, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, the head of finance for state-run Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp, stated that the company is purchasing Middle Eastern crude to compensate for a decrease in the supply of cheaper Russian oil.

According to reports earlier this month, Indian state refiners, which usually purchase Russian oil on the spot market rather than under a long-term contract, are unable to acquire the 8–10 million barrels of crude for January loading that they have previously seen accessible in the market.

Following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the European Union banned purchases and placed sanctions on Moscow, making India a major customer of Russian seaborne oil. Over one-third of India’s energy imports come from Russian oil as the nation has tried to benefit from lower prices for the petroleum.

In an interview with Reuters on December 26, Gupta stated that BPCL does not obtain all of its Russian oil supplies from the spot market.

With a combined capacity of 706,000 barrels per day (bpd), BPCL’s three refineries process roughly 35% to 37% of its crude oil, he said.

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