India's top refiner purchases its first Guyanese oil

Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, has made its 1st purchase of Guyana's Liza light sweet crude as it attempts to diversify its crude purchases, a source familiar with matter told.

Saturday, 3rd July 2021

Guyana: Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, has made its 1st purchase of Guyana's Liza light sweet crude as it attempts to diversify its crude purchases, a source familiar with matter told.

The one million-barrel cargo will set sail about July 4 on Greece-flagged tanker Militos for India's Paradip port, where it is set to appear around August 8, as per the Refinitiv data.

This would be a 'trial cargo', the source stated, without providing details of pricing. The source stated that India is in talks with Guyana's government for a term oil supply contract for state refiners.

IOC is the 1st Indian state refiner to purchase Liza oil. Private refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a combined venture among state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS) and steel tycoon L.N. Mittal, purchased a million barrels of Liza grade in March.

IOC declined to immediately comment.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in more than 80% of its oil needs from overseas plus relies heavily on the Middle East.

Earlier this year, India demanded state refiners to expedite the diversification of crude sources after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting nations and its allies, also known as OPEC+ failed to ease supply curbs, pointing to a spike in global oil prices.

The state holds refiners - IOC, HPCL, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL.NS) & Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS) - together control around three-fifths of India's 5 million barrel per day refining capacity.

By tax-heavy retail prices of gasoline and gasoil jumping to a record high, Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan has again urged OPEC+, ahead of the group's July 1 meeting, to hold easing supply curbs to allow demand-led recovery and to calm inflation.

India’s relations with Guyana are friendly and cordial, with a high degree of understanding. The interaction is structured through periodic Joint Commissions, Foreign Office Consultations, Cultural Exchange Programme and ITEC.