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State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have jointly bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil - the second deal that Indian refiners have struck since oil restarted flowing into international markets. The two firms have bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from Trafigura for delivery in the second half of April, sources said. 1.5 million barrels of oil will be delivered to IOC's Paradip refinery in Odisha and rest 500,000 barrels to HPCL's Visakhapatnam unit in Andhra Pradesh. This is the second deal for Venezuelan crude after Reliance Industries bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for April delivery from Vitol. The world's third-largest oil consumer halted Venezuelan crude purchases after US sanctions were reimposed. It has resumed imports after the US granted Vitol and Trafigura a licence to sell Venezuelan oil after President Nicolas Maduro was seized in a military operation and Washington asserted control over the
A case of oil theft has come to light in Rajasthan's Beawar district, where miscreants allegedly punctured an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) pipeline and siphoned off fuel by laying an illegal parallel line, officials said on Saturday. The incident was detected near Lalpura Ghata in the Sendra area after IOC's technical monitoring system flagged irregularities, Beawar SP Ratan Singh said. Police have registered a case, and a search for the accused is underway, he said. Subsequently, the inspection found an unauthorised valve fitted on the pipeline along with a parallel line of about 120 metres laid to steal oil over a prolonged period, he said. According to officials, the method used for the theft appeared to be well planned, raising suspicion about the involvement of an organised gang. After the detection, the IOC's technical team reached the site and began repair work by securing the punctured section of the pipeline with clamps, they said. Senior IOC officials, including the chi