Aug 12, 2026
Indian state-controlled oil refiners continue to search the market for spot crude supply as term deliveries are constrained by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and its key oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) are looking to buy a combined 6 million barrels of crude oil via spot tenders, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing tender documents it has seen.
HPCL is seeking up to 4 million barrels of crude for delivery in September and October. MRPL, for its part, is looking to purchase spot crude supply for delivery in the October 10-20 window, according to the tender documents Reuters has seen.
Additionally, MRPL wants potential suppliers to avoid cargoes that need to move through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, per the tender documents of the Mangalore refiner.
At the end of July, when hostilities in the Middle East reignited and the Houthis threatened to disrupt Saudi Arabia’s oil exports from the Red Sea, MRPL became the first Indian refiner to tell crude suppliers to avoid both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
In recent weeks, India’s state-run refiners have continued their buying spree of crude from West Africa as the Middle East crisis has sapped supply and made deliveries uncertain.
Last week, MRPL acquired about 1 million barrels of crude oil from Oman via a tender, at a premium of some $3 per barrel to Dated Brent, from Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore.
In addition, state-run Indian Oil Corporation, the largest refiner by capacity in the country, has bought from Chevron a total of 4 million barrels of West African crude, including Nemba, Saxi Batuque, and Clov grades from Angola, and Congo’s Djeno crude.
Indian refiners are in search of crude supply from as far as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America as their term supplies from the Middle East were trapped again in July and unable to reach India as planned.
Oilprice.com
