India Refiners Set Stage for Slump in Russia Oil Purchases

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(Bloomberg) —  

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Indian refiners accounting for more than half of the nation’s imports of Russian crude have paused buying for the coming months, reinforcing expectations purchases for December and January delivery will plunge.

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Indian processors, the top buyers of seaborne oil from Moscow, have been weighing up their options since US authorities blacklisted two of Russia’s largest producers, Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, last week. Now they are preparing for a lengthy hiatus.

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Top importer Reliance Industries Ltd., which has a long-term supply contract with Rosneft signed only months ago, will no longer take Russian cargoes, according to a person with direct knowledge of its plans, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The conglomerate was already grappling with an incoming European Union ban on fuels made from Moscow’s oil.

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Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., one of the smaller state-owned entities, said it paused all buying for now, citing the risk of secondary sanctions. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd., a joint venture between tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s Mittal Energy and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., suspended further deals.

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Combined, the three accounted for about 920,000 barrels a day of Russian crude imports in the first half of the year — or 52% of India’s total, according to data from analytics firm Kpler. That will now likely fall to zero, though the figure could change over time as other factors, including sanctions enforcement and the evolution of India’s trade talks with the US, become clearer.

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In the meantime, refiners are moving to fill the gap left by Moscow. Reliance went on an oil-buying spree last week, picking up at least 10 million barrels of Middle East and US cargoes to make up for the shortfall. MRPL purchased spot crude from Abu Dhabi.

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State-owned Indian Oil Corp. said earlier this week that the company was “absolutely not going to discontinue” purchases of Russian crude, but would comply with international sanctions. Bharat Petroleum Corp., another state-owned refiner, also expressed interest in buying some Russian crude in the current trading cycle. 

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Still, IOC has since sought as much as 24 million barrels of crude from the Americas in a term contract.

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On Friday, state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. said it has also stopped processing Russian crude, citing reasons over economic viability, according to comments from Chairman Vikas Kaushal on an analysts’ call. The refiner is now processing more Middle East and West African barrels instead.

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Moves by India’s state and private refiners have been scrutinized over the past weeks as traders look for changes in behavior after the wave of new European and US restrictions on Russia. India, walking a geopolitical tightrope, has typically been more wary of violating Western sanctions than China.

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Reliance, MRPL, IOC and BPCL did not respond to requests for comment.

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The availability of Russian crude sold by unsanctioned companies is now in focus, along with arrivals from the blacklisted firms that are transferred to or marketed by other smaller entities. Last year, Rosneft, Lukoil PJSC, Surgutneftegas PAO and Gazprom Neft PJSC — all now sanctioned — supplied more than 80% of India’s imports, according to Kpler.

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(Updates to add HPCL comments in ninth paragraph)

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