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No direction from govt to buy or stop Russian oil intake: HPCL
Amid higher US tariffs on India because of Russian oil, centre-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. said that there is no direction from the government to buy or stop Russian oil intake.
This comes after market speculations about state-owned oil refiners pulling back from purchases of Russian crude oil.
However, chairman Vikas Kaushal said that the company is scouting for alternative crudes to protect itself if it were to stop buying Russian oil due to higher prices and sanctions.
The chairman said that while there was no official directive from the government regarding the purchase of Russian oil, HPCL’s Russian oil intake in the June quarter fell to 13.2% due to narrowing discounts.
“It’s not because of any geopolitical reason. It was an economic decision based on what we needed to run in our refineries,” he added.
HPCL remains open to buying Russian oil if it becomes competitively priced again, he said, adding the company would be able to absorb the financial loss for not processing Russian oil as it has already cut its Russian oil processing.
US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25% duty on imports from India due to its oi business with Russia after an earlier announced 25% tariff.
There are major speculations about companies including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. planning to skip spot purchases of the crude in the upcoming buying cycle, until there’s clear government guidance.
Trump’s recent tariff announcements have created wide-ranging uncertainties in the Indian oil market.
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