BPCL to double crude imports from Brazil's Petrobras in $780 mn deal

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will sign a term contract with Brazil’s state-run Petrobras to purchase 12 million barrels (bbl) of crude oil for $780 million, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union minister of petroleum and natural gas, said on Friday. The deal would be signed next week during Indian oil ministry’s flagship event “India Energy Week (IEW)-2026” to be held in Goa from January 27-30.

 

The fresh deal between BPCL and Petrobras for 2026-27 (FY27) would double oil volumes from last year’s crude term contract under which the Brazilian oil company supplied 6 million bbl during FY26.

 

Amid the recent cutdown in India’s intake of Russian oil due to US sanctions, domestic refiners are scouting for additional crude supplies from traditional sources while also exploring new geographies such as Brazil and Guyana.

 

Puri said the global energy market has enough crude oil supply for India to “navigate” the current geopolitical changes. “It is a rapidly expanding and changing global environment. We were buying crude oil from 27 geographies in 2007, today we are buying from 41 countries,” the minister said.

 

During IEW-2026, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi would interact with global chief executive officers (CEOs) and Indian industry leaders, including senior executives from leading global energy and technology companies, said Puri.

 

The roundtable with the PM would host 13 foreign CEOs, five Indian private sector CEOs, and the heads of nine Indian public sector undertakings (PSUs).

 

Other agreements to be signed at IEW include collaboration between Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) and Shell for global upstream opportunities; and Oil India Ltd (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), and TotalEnergies partnering for LNG sourcing; while NRL and TotalEnergies will join hands for setting up a 200 kilo tonne per annum (ktpa) sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project at Paradip, Odisha.

 

The event will also witness the signing of two Shipbuilding contracts between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Mitsui OSK Lines, and Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea.

 

This year, IEW is expected to be attended by over 75,000 delegates, with 17 ministers and deputy ministers from countries including the UAE, Canada, the Netherlands, Oman, Brunei, Myanmar, and Tanzania joining the event. The event will host 17 ministers and deputy ministers from various countries, including the UAE, Canada, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Vanuatu, Trinidad & Tobago, Tanzania, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Oman, and Brunei.