Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), the country’s second-biggest state refiner, is likely to increase its oil deal with Saudi Arabia for 2012-13 by 27% to 152,000 barrels per day (bpd) on doubts that global sanctions may jeopardize trade with Iran. Iran has offered extra oil supplies to Asian buyers as it seeks to retain market share in the face of western sanctions aimed at crippling Tehran's nuclear programme.
India with China and Japan are planning to cuts at least 10% in Iranian crude imports as tightening US sanctions make it difficult for the top Asian buyers to keep doing business with the OPEC producer.
For this fiscal year, the company has approached the world's top oil exporter to increase the size of its term deal for the next fiscal year beginning in April to 152,000 barrels per day (bpd) versus 120,000 bpd.
The company is aiming higher volumes for its plants at Mumbai and Kochi. The company plans to continue buying 70,000 bpd for its Bina refinery in central India operated by Bharat Refinery (BORL), a joint venture of Bharat Petroleum and Oman Oil Co.
