Indian Oil signs deal to buy US oil
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE: Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s top refiner, has signed its first annual deal to buy United States oil, paying US$1.5 billion (RM6.13 billion) for 60,000 barrels a day in the year to March 2020 to diversify its crude sources, said its chairman yesterday.
IOC is the first Indian state refiner to buy US oil under an annual contract, in a deal that will help boost trade.
The company previously purchased US oil from spot markets and signed a mini-term deal in August to buy six million barrels of US oil between November and January.
IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh said the annual contract will begin from April. He declined to give the name of the seller or pricing details, citing confidentiality.
A trade source said IOC has signed the deal with Norwegian oil company Equinor .
Equinor, which has set up an office in New Delhi to support oil marketing and trading, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Indian Oil buys 75 per cent of its oil needs through long-term deals, mostly with Opec nations.
The term deal will help cut IOC’s dependence on Opec crude, said Sri Paravaikkarasu, head of east of Suez oil for consultants FGE in Singapore.