{"id":86780,"date":"2026-01-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/mena-india\/?p=86780"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:09:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:09:54","slug":"indias-crude-purchases-are-gradually-tilting-back-to-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/mena-india\/2026\/01\/21\/indias-crude-purchases-are-gradually-tilting-back-to-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s crude purchases are gradually tilting back to Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indian<\/strong> state-owned refineries are gradually swinging back to MENA crude supplies<\/strong> as US pressure over Russian oil purchases ramps up. <\/p>\n

State-run <\/strong>Bharat<\/strong> Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has issued one-year tenders for Abu Dhabi\u2019s Murban, Iraqi Basrah, and Oman crude <\/strong>for deliveries stretching to March 2027, a shift back to its traditional sources, Bloomberg<\/a> reports. This follows a purchase agreement signed with Iraqi suppliers in November 2025 for 70k barrels per day (bpd) through 2026. <\/p>\n

Another state-run refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), is looking for alternatives. <\/strong>With Russian volumes off the table, MRPL \u2014 which already sources 40% of its needs from the Middle East \u2014 is actively scouting for Venezuelan barrels. However, the commercial viability for these purchases remains in question due to high freight rates and low yield from heavy crude. These factors will likely send demand back to reliable heavy crude producers in the Gulf region. MRPL already said<\/a> it remains committed to Middle East crude, particularly Saudi Aramco barrels, to ensure supply stability amid geopolitical uncertainties.<\/p>\n

Driving the news: <\/strong>The latest moves by state refiners are meant to appease the White House as it dangles a 500% tariff threat against countries purchasing Russian oil<\/a>. Meanwhile, Russian imports appear to be declining \u2014 marking a three year low of 1.2 mn bpd in December from 2 mn bpd.<\/p>\n

The pivot will be expensive.<\/strong> Replacing the discounted Russian barrels could add up to USD 11 bn to India\u2019s annual import bill. But for Indian refiners, the risk of secondary sanctions and tariff pressure outweighs the benefit of cheaper Russian oil.<\/p>\n

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links <\/strong>to our background as well as external sources.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indian refiners are locking in on MENA supply as US pressure redraws the limits of reliance on Russian oil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2410],"tags":[2409,2402,2404,2756],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-86780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-energy","tag-enterpriseam-india","tag-oil-and-gas","tag-russian-oil","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"c8fc16bd-5dd8-4232-96a3-20e07b60a8fa","order":"6","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/356.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"India 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