Sterling Oil delivers 1 mn barrel Nigerian crude oil to IOC

The deal is estimated to be in the range of Rs 660-700 cr on the basis of the prevailing Brent Crude prices at around $ 108-109 a barrel

Vadodara-based Sandesara Group's Nigerian energy subsidiary, Sterling Oil (Seepco) has executed the delivery of 1 million barrels of brent crude to PSU Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) on Wednesday, the company sources informed. This is the first instance for an Indian PSU to purchase crude oil from Nigerian fields.

Senior officials of Sterling Oil Exploration & Production Co Ltd (Seepco) - a Sandesara Group company today informed that the company has executed the delivery of 1 million barrels OKwuibome grade crude oil (brent crude) from its Nigerian fields to IOC through its trading partner Glencore.

"We have executed our delivery commitment to IOC for 1 million barrels of OKwuibome grade crude oil through our trading partner Glencore. This will contribute towards India's energy security as we are supplying crude to the public sector oil refiner," said Chetan Sandesara, director, Sterling Oil Exploration & Production Co Ltd (Seepco).

The deal is estimated to be in the range of Rs 660-700 crore on the basis of the prevailing Brent Crude prices at around $ 108-109 a barrel.

Other than this, the public sector refiner is also understood to have purchased two very large crude carrier cargos of each Nigerian EA, Qua Iboe and Usan grades and Angola's Palanca oil from the trader Vitol.

IOC has purchased a total five million barrels of crude from West African fields as a result of company's efforts to explore diversified oil sources amid Western sanctions on imports from Iran.

IOC will process the crude from African fields at its refinery owned by subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Okwuibome crude is popular amongst north American and western European refineries because of its low sulfur and sweet crude quality. Okwuibome grade commands premium of $ 2 a barrel over Brent price because of its superior quality with low sulfur.

Led by industrialist Nitin Sandesara, Seepco has been producing Okwuibome grade of crude oil from its Nigerian fields for over past two years.