The State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will double crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia next fiscal and cut purchases from Iran by over 14 per cent.

HPCL in 2012-13 has proposed to buy 3.5 million tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia against 1.75 million tonnes of oil bought in the current year, the company sources said.

It will cut down purchase from Iran to 3 million tonnes in the year beginning April from 3.5 million tonnes in the current year.

Indian refiners fear problems in paying for crude oil they buy from Iran after the US and European Union imposed fresh sanctions to deter the Islamic regime for its nuclear programme. The refiners are cutting imports from Iran by 10 per cent next fiscal.

Sources said HPCL will keep purchases from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Iraq and Malaysia unchanged in the next fiscal.

It will buy 2.25 million tonnes from Abu Dhabi National Oil Corp, 2.25 million tonnes from State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) of Iraq, 1 million tonnes from Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) and 1.25 million tonnes from Petronas of Malaysia.

HPCL’s total crude oil requirement for 2012-13 has been estimated at 18 million tonnes. Out of this, 14.25 million tonnes is proposed to be imported through a combination of term and spot contracts, while the balance 3.75 million tonnes will be sourced from indigenous fields.

Of the imported crude, 11.25 million tonnes will be procured from National Oil Companies (NOCs) through term contracts, while the balance 3 million tones of crude will be sourced from the spot market.

Mangalore Refinery (MRPL) was India’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil at 7.1 million tonnes in the current fiscal while Essar Oil bought 5 million tonnes. Indian Oil Corp has a term contract to buy 1.5 million tonnes while Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) could not commence its 1 million tonnes term imports from Iran this fiscal because it could not open an account with Turkey’s Halkbank for payment to NIOC.

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