By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Middlemen supplying Russian oil are not offering cargoes due to new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, according to the Indian refiner’s chief financial officer. Bharat Oil (NSE:).
The company and other state refiners – Indian Oil Corp, BPCL, Hindustan Oil (NSE:) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals buy Russian oil on the spot market, mainly from traders, and delays are forcing them to look for alternatives.
“We have not received any new offers for the March delivery window. Traders are asking us to wait. We are waiting to receive offers,” Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told Reuters on Wednesday.
“We are not expecting a similar number of shipments as we were receiving in December and January,” Gupta said.
Traders start offering goods on the 15th of each month to raise them the following month.
The refiner receives on average 16 to 17 cargoes of Russian oil per month, which covers around 35% of its needs. Like other Indian refiners, it experienced a decline in January, missing three cargoes, and now faces a further drop in supplies in March.
To fill this gap, Indian refiners have launched tenders for oil imports and are buying grades such as Abu Dhabi’s Murban grade.
BPCL has also floated an annual tender to supply 1 million barrels of Murban every month for a year.
Gupta said his company may launch a short-term tender in March to secure cargoes of U.S. oil for up to six months, with higher premiums on Middle East spot oil making them more attractive.
India is expected to increase its purchases of US oil and gas after US President Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration will seek to maximize US oil and gas production.
