India Buys 4m Barrels of Nigerian Crude as US-Iran Tension Persist

India Buys 4m Barrels of Nigerian Crude as US-Iran Tension Persist

India’s state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has purchased four million barrels of Nigerian crude as Indian refiners increasingly turn to alternative suppliers amid disruptions to Middle Eastern oil shipments linked to tensions between the United States and Iran.

According to Reuters, HPCL recently bought two million barrels of Nigerian crude through separate tenders, including one million barrels each of Forcados and Bonga crude grades from Shell.

The cargoes are expected to be delivered to HPCL’s Visakh Refinery in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, which has a crude-processing capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day.

The latest transaction followed an earlier purchase of two million barrels of Nigerian crude by HPCL from commodity trader Glencore through a tender.

That transaction comprised one million barrels each of Okwuibome and Utapate crude grades. The cargoes are expected to supply HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), which has a processing capacity of 180,000 barrels per day.

HPCL holds a 74 per cent stake in HRRL, while the remaining 26 per cent is owned by the Rajasthan state government.

The increased purchases underscore growing interest among Indian refiners in Nigerian and other West African crude as shipping disruptions around key Middle Eastern waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, constrain traditional supplies.

Several Indian refiners have recently turned to crude from Oman and West Africa through spot tenders as term supplies from the Middle East remain limited.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, another state-controlled Indian refiner, has also purchased about one million barrels of Omani crude through a tender from Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore at a premium of approximately $3 per barrel to Dated Brent, according to trade sources cited by Reuters.

Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest refiner by capacity, has also purchased four million barrels of West African crude from Chevron.

The deal includes Angola’s Nemba, Saxi Batuque and Clov grades, as well as Congo’s Djeno crude.

The buying pattern reflects a broader effort by Indian refiners to diversify crude supplies amid renewed disruptions to Middle Eastern shipments. Refiners have increasingly sourced crude from distant suppliers, including Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America, after some term supplies from the Middle East failed to reach India as scheduled in July.

Meanwhile, oil prices continued to rise amid concerns over global supply disruptions, with prices reportedly reaching about $81 per barrel on Thursday, compared with $79 per barrel the previous day.