Indian Oil buys more sweet crude to replace Russian oil, say sources

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has bought another 6 million barrels of sweet crude via a tender for April delivery, trade sources said on Monday, as the country’s top refiner seek to replace Russian oil after US sanctions disrupted supply.

The purchases come after Washington announced earlier this month sweeping sanctions targeting Russian producers and tankers.

IOC bought in the latest tender 2 million barrels of Nigerian Okwuibome crude from Vitol and 1 million barrels each of Nigerian Akpo and Angolan Mostarda grades from Shell, the sources said. The refiner also purchased 2 million barrels of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude from Equinor, they added. Just a week earlier, IOC bought 7 million barrels of spot Middle Eastern and African crude oil via tenders, including a purchase of Abu Dhabi’s Murban.

Separately, another refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) which issued its first crude import tender in more than a year, did not award the tender, traders said.