According to trade sources on Monday, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) jointly purchased the cargoes through separate tenders conducted last week. The financial details of the transactions were not immediately available.
IOC accounted for the larger share of the purchases, acquiring around 5 million barrels of crude from suppliers across Africa. The refiner reportedly bought about 1 million barrels of Angola's Kissanje crude from Cathay Petroleum. It also secured approximately 2 million barrels of Nigeria's Agbami and Usan grades from commodity trader Trafigura, alongside another 2 million barrels comprising Angola's Nemba and Dalia crude from Chevron.
The IOC cargoes are expected to arrive between late August and early September, ensuring adequate feedstock supplies for the company's refining operations during the period.
Separately, HPCL purchased about 2 million barrels of Brazil's Tupi crude through its own tender process, according to the same trade sources.
One of the sources further disclosed that HPCL also acquired an additional 1 million barrels of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend crude via the tender. Those shipments are scheduled for delivery across August and September.
The purchases highlight the continued strategy of Indian refiners to source crude from a broad range of producing regions, including Africa, South America and Central Asia, depending on pricing, availability and refinery requirements.
As is customary, neither Indian Oil Corporation nor Hindustan Petroleum Corporation commented on the reported commercial transactions. State refiners typically refrain from publicly discussing crude purchase tenders or individual supply agreements.