BP, Shell, Goldman Mull Indian Oil Stockpile Deals
BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Goldman Sachs, Trafigura, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have expressed interest in filling India's strategic oil reserve at Padur in the southern Karnataka state.
India to Cut Iranian Oil Purchases in Row Over Gas Field
Indian state refiners will cut oil imports from Iran in 2017/18 by a fifth, as New Delhi takes a more assertive stance over an impasse on a giant gas field that it wants awarded to an Indian consortium, sources familiar with the matter said. India, Iran's biggest oil buyer after China, was among a handful of countries that continued to deal with the Persian Gulf nation despite Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. However, previously close ties have been strained since the lifting of some sanctions last year as Iran adopts a bolder approach in trying to get the best deal for its oil and gas.
VLCC Brings India's First Iranian Oil Parcel for Emergency Reserves
India has received the first parcel of Iranian oil to partly fill its strategic storage in southern India, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd , which imported the very large crude carrier (VLCC), said on its website. MRPL shipped in 2 million barrels of Iranian oil in the VLCC Dino. India will fill half of the storage with 6 million barrels of Iranian oil while continuing talks with United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for the remainder. A second parcel to be procured by Bharat Petroleum Corp. is scheduled to arrive around Oct. 25, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
India Starts Settling Iran Oil Dues via EIH
Indian refiners have turned to State Bank of India and Germany-based bank Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG (EIH) to speed payment of billions of Iranian oil dues they still owe to Tehran, after delays in another money route. Refiners in India, Iran's top oil buyer after China, last month resumed settling their back debt of about $6.6 billion after the lifting earlier this year of some of the sanctions against Tehran had opened up oil trade and banking channels. The first payments were handled in May by state-run Union Bank of India via Turkey's Halkbank, which had previously handled payments before tougher European sanctions were put in place in February 2013.
India Pays part of Iran Oil Dues ahead of Modi Visit
Indian refiners have cleared part of the $6.4 billion owed to Iran for crude oil imports in euros through Turkey's Halkbank, three sources privy to the payment said on Saturday. This is the first payment to Iran by India since the lifting of Western sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation earlier this year and comes just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit beginning on Sunday. State refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd paid $500 million while Indian Oil Corp has settled $250 million through the Union Bank of India, the sources said.
India's March Iran Imports top 500,000 bpd
March oil imports from Iran up 135 pct from Feb shipments. India's Iran oil imports topped 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, highest in at least five years, as private refiner Reliance Industries resumed purchases after a multi-year lay-off, preliminary tanker data obtained by Reuters shows. Indian refiners together imported 506,100 bpd oil from Iran last month, a jump of about 135 percent from February, the data showed. In March of last year, the refiners halted imports from Iran to keep shipments within the parameters of the temporary nuclear deal then in force.
Iran's Tankers Target India, EU
Iran wants to up exports to India by 200,000 bpd within 6 months. With Iran ready to resume business as usual with the world under a historic nuclear deal, Tehran will target India, Asia's fastest-growing major oil market, and old partners in Europe with hundreds of thousands of barrels of its crude. Iran expects the United Nations nuclear watchdog to confirm on Friday it has curtailed its nuclear programme, paving the way for the unfreezing of billions of dollars of assets and an end to bans that have crippled its oil exports. Tehran plans to lift exports by 500…
Cairn India Seeks to Export Oil Despite Ban
Cairn India Ltd has invited initial bids for exports of its oil from the desert state of Rajasthan, according to a copy of the tender notice seen by Reuters, despite a government ban on overseas sales of locally-produced crude. A government official said there had been no change in the ban and that Cairn India might simply be trying to establish a price for its oil via the tender process ahead of negotiations to sell it to local buyers. Cairn India, backed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, did not respond to telephone calls and an email seeking comment about the export notice.
India's May Iran Oil Imports Highest Since March 2014
May imports from Iran rise nearly 40 pct on-month to 367,900 bpd. India's imports of Iranian crude oil rose last month to their highest level since March 2014 as refiners boosted purchases ahead of a final push by international negotiators to reach a deal on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme by end-June. The jump to a 14-month high comes just two months after India dropped its crude imports from Iran to zero under U.S. pressure to limit its purchases of the Islamic republic's oil. In March this year India did not take any Iranian oil for the first time in at least a decade.
Indian Delegation to Visit Iran to Discuss Oil Deals
An Indian delegation will visit Iran this week to scout for investment opportunities ahead of an anticipated nuclear deal between the OPEC-member and world powers that would soften sanctions against the country, sources privy to the plan said. Officials from India's finance and oil ministries and executives from ONGC Videsh and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd are part of the delegation that will hold meeting with their Iranian counterparts on Saturday, the sources said. India is Iran's biggest oil client after China although its imports from Tehran have declined under pressure from western sanctions.
India Halts Iran oil Imports Under U.S. Pressure
Oil imports from Iran at 220,000 bpd in year to March 31. U.S. pressured India not to raise annual Iran oil imports. India halted oil imports from Iran for the first time in at least a decade in March as New Delhi responded to U.S. pressure to keep its shipments from Tehran within sanction limits during the last month of negotiations on a preliminary nuclear deal. Iran and six world powers have ramped up the pace of negotiations this week ahead of the Tuesday deadline for reaching an initial accord on a final nuclear agreement. Both sides have warned it was crucial to overcome differences that could still wreck any chance at a deal.
India Rejects BP's Jet Fuel Play
India has rejected a request from BP Plc to be allowed to sell jet fuel to the booming aviation market in Asia's No. 3 economy, saying it did not meet the conditions necessary, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters. Consumption of aviation fuel is set to rise in India as domestic air traffic is estimated to almost triple this decade, with more of the country's 1.25 billion people starting to fly and as airlines connect smaller cities. Demand for aviation fuel in India could rise by 2.2 percent in the financial year beginning in April, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell in the federal oil ministry.
India to Pay Iran $400m Frozen Oil Money This Week
India will soon pay a third tranche of $400 million to Iran ahead of a Nov. 24 deadline to an interim deal with six world powers that allows Tehran to recover part of its overseas frozen oil revenues, industry sources said in Wednesday. Indian oil refiners are preparing to release the payments this week, the sources said, adding Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Essar Oil will make the bulk of the payment. The other refiners that will also make payments are Indian Oil Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. India has already paid $900 million in two installments under the interim deal that allowed Iran to recover $2.8 billion of its funds held in foreign banks…
Indian State Refiners Reluctant to Hedge Oil Purchases
India's risk-averse state refiners are reluctant to follow central bank advice to hedge part of the country's $165 billion annual oil import bill, fearing administrative action if they suffer losses, refinery sources said. Officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday discussed the idea, which is part of a push by Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan to make Asia's No.3 economy less vulnerable to external shocks. India is the world's fourth-largest oil consumer and imports 3.8 million barrels per day of crude. Any spike…
China to Import 335 MT of Naphtha, Wants More
China is set to import more than 335,000 tonnes of naphtha and diesel, rare moves for the world's no. 2 oil consumer given it has been self-sufficient at meeting domestic oil product demand, industry sources said on Friday. Unipec, the trading arm of top Chinese oil firm Sinopec, has bought more than 300,000 tonnes of naphtha for delivery into China. Traders said the firm rarely buys specifically for China. State-run Sinochem has bought at least 35,000 tonnes of diesel for October-to-November delivery and could import more, industry sources said. CNOOC and PetroChina have bought 105,000 tonnes of diesel and could buy more, they said, though volumes could not be confirmed.
India Prepares to Pay $400 mln Under Interim Deal to Iran
Iran has sought payment of $400 million from India under an interim deal with six world powers that allows the OPEC nation to recover part of its overseas frozen oil revenues, industry sources said in Wednesday. Iran and the United States, China, France, Germany, Britain and Russia agreed in July to extend a six-month interim accord until Nov. 24 after they failed to meet a July 20 deadline for reaching a long-term deal to end their nuclear dispute. Nuclear talks are due to resume on Wednesday in Vienna. The six powers want Iran to scale back its uranium enrichment programme to ensure it cannot produce nuclear bombs. Iran says the programme is for peaceful purposes.
Asia Distillates: Gasoil Firms as Vitol, Glencore Buy
Asia's cash premium for benchmark 500ppm gasoil stayed firm on Friday as a buying spree in the Singapore cash market continued with a total of 10 deals for 500ppm gasoil, with Vitol and Glencore buying most of the cargoes. Buying interest in the Singapore cash market would likely continue for a while, traders said, although it was not immediately clear where the cargoes will head to. Traders added that they are pinning their hopes on regional demand picking up and refinery cuts to curb supply. India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has cut runs at its 300…
India to Make May-July Oil Payments to Iran
India is set to pay Iran $1.65 billion over the next three months under an interim nuclear deal that eases sanctions on Tehran and gives it access to $4.2 billion in blocked funds, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. As long as Tehran complies with the terms of its preliminary agreement with western powers, which took effect on Jan. 20, Iran receives some of its funds frozen abroad in eight payments from various buyers over six months. Iran has cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by nearly 75 percent in implementing the pact, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its latest report, as the OPEC member allays fears about its atomic aims.
