State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s sister firms – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) – are also exploring possibilities to enter into a term contract with Russia for crude oil imports.
BPCL’s plan to enter into a term agreement with Russia, not on the government’s direction, but considering the price advantage that the Russian crude can present now. Indian oil companies have never had a term agreement with Russia for imports of crude. Whatever quantity is procured from Russia is from the spot market. However, new avenues for the term can always be examined. The lion’s share of India’s crude oil import is from the Middle East on term agreements. India is the third-largest importer of crude oil in the world. Image Source
