HPCL buys 120,000 tonnes petrol for Sept-Oct delivery; still seeking more

HPCL's latest tender is for 30,000 tonnes of petrol scheduled for Oct. 5-8 arrival at Vizag and offers are to be submitted by Aug. 28

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd is seeking more petrol after having purchased more than 120,000 tonnes of the fuel for September to early October delivery from the spot market to plug a supply gap, industry sources said on Tuesday.

The state-owned refiner has been actively seeking petrol from the spot market this year as Indian refiners undergo maintenance and upgradation to produce cleaner fuels.

HPCL recently bought the cargoes for September to early October arrival at Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Mundra from BP, Emirates National Oil Co and Trafigura, but the premiums were not immediately available.

This however could not be confirmed as the buyer and its sellers do not typically comment on their deals.

HPCL's latest tender is for 30,000 tonnes of gasoline scheduled for Oct. 5-8 arrival at Vizag and offers are to be submitted by Aug. 28.

It is not the only Indian refiner looking to import gasoline. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Indian Oil Corp have also been seeking the fuel.

This has pushed India's petrol imports in July to the highest in at least 8 years, official data showed.

But India's petrol exports were at a two-month high of 1.16 million tonnes in July, or about 16% below May's export volumes when they were at a two-year high, the data showed.

August data will be available next month.