BPCL buys Middle East grades to replace Russian shortfall

New Delhi: State-run Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp is buying Middle Eastern crude to make up for less supply of cheaper Russian oil, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta said in a recent interview.

Indian state refiners, which typically buy Russian oil in the spot market rather than under long-term contract, are unable to procure about 8 million to 10 million barrels of crude for January loading that they have previously seen available in the market, sources said earlier this month.

India became a top buyer of Russian seaborne oil after the European Union shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian oil accounts for more than one-third of India's energy imports as the country has sought to take advantage of discounts on the crude.

BPCL is not getting its full Russian oil supply from the spot market, Gupta told Reuters in an interview on Dec 26.

"There may be a shortage of two to three cargoes per month ... whatever is the shortage of Russian crude, we are purchasing that from Middle East only," he said, adding that its recent purchases included Omani oil.

Russian oil makes up about 35 per cent to 37 per cent of the crude BPCL processes at its three refineries, which have a combined capacity of 706,000 barrels per day (bpd), he said.

"Next year if there is any major impact on Russian supplies, we will explore more sources including WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude or Middle Eastern crudes, whichever is cheaper," Gupta said.

Russian oil exports have fallen as domestic demand is rising and as Moscow has to meet output quotas under its pact with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country's output is also set to decline in 2024 from last year, the Interfax news agency reported on Dec. 5.

Additionally, Russian state oil firm Rosneft has signed a deal with Indian private refiner Reliance to supply 500,000 bpd of crude for 10 years starting in 2025. That contract will account for about half of the company's exports, reducing the supply available for other traders.

BPCL is constantly diversifying its oil sources and buys about 53 per cent of its supply through term deals. It recently bought Argentinian crude for the first time, he said.

For the fiscal year 2025/26, BPCL plans to lift 10,000 bpd of crude oil from Qatar under an annual deal while keeping contracts with other term suppliers intact, Gupta said.

Investment plans

BPCL plans to invest 1.7 trillion rupees ($19.94 billion) in the five years to 2028/29, with half of that met through debt, Gupta said.

The company has already tied up about 320 billion rupees of loans with Indian banks for the expansion of its Bina refinery in central India, he added.

BPCL will refinance 40 billion to 50 billion rupees in loans next year and would go for external borrowings in 2026/27, when it plans major investments, Gupta said.

He added that more interest rate cuts are required by the U.S. to make overseas borrowing attractive.

BPCL has foreign debt of $2 billion at the group level that include investment in overseas exploration projects.

It will invest 250 billion rupees for the development of its oil and gas projects in Mozambique and Brazil in the next five years, Gupta said.

($1 = 85.2540 Indian rupees)