State-run BPCL to sign $780 mn crude sourcing deal with Brazil's Petrobras
BPCL, Petrobras to sign term contract for 12 million crude oil barrels at India Energy Week in Goa next week. PM Narendra Modi will meet global energy executives from TotalEnergies, BP, Vitol, HD Hyundai, Vedanta, ReNew at the event.
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) will sign a contract with Brazil's Petrobras next week to supply 12 million barrels of crude oil a petroleum ministry statement said, as India continues to diversify its sourcing beyond Russia and West Asia.
The contract will be signed at the upcoming India Energy Week 2026, to be held in Goa on 27-30 January. BPCL and Petrobras had signed a one-year contract in February last year. Under the new contract, crude oil will be supplied over FY27.
Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said the global market is rapidly changing and India has diversified its oil import basket to navigate the volatile scenario. While India was earlier buying oil from 27 countries, now it is buying from 41 countries, Puri said. "We basically allow the market to propel the essential decision," he said.
The contract gains significance amid volatile global oil markets, with slowing Russian supplies, the recent US intervention in Venezuela, and lingering tensions in West Asia. India imports about 90% of its oil requirements, sourcing oil worth $161 billion last fiscal. India is the world's third-largest importer of crude oil after the US and China, and its demand has been growing every year.
A report from the parliamentary standing committee on petroleum and natural gas last month raised concerns over India's oil import dependence amid an uncertain geopolitical scenario and asked the government to diversify the country's crude sourcing strategy.
"More and more energy is coming into the global market from the western hemisphere. By western hemisphere, I mean Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Canada. The US is producing 13 million barrels a day. So, we position ourselves in this," Puri said, expressing optimism that India will be able to navigate the situation.
Amid the decline in imports from Russia, once the top supplier to India, domestic refiners have been diversifying sources of oil and increasing supplies from West Asia, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Guyana, West Africa, the US and Canada. In December, Iraq was the second largest supplier to India, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US, Kuwait, and Brazil.
Energy partnerships
Among energy tie-ups, state-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) and its subsidiary Numaligarh Refinery Ltd will sign an MoU with French energy major TotalEnergies for evaluating liquefied natural gas market and sourcing potential for future requirements of both OIL and NRL. NRL will also tie up with TotalEnergies for setting up of a 200 KTPA (kilo tonne per annum) sustainable aviation fuel project (SAF) at Paradip, Odisha.
The official statement also noted that during the India Energy Week 2026, BPCL's overseas arm Bharat PetroResources Ltd would sign a memorandum of understanding with UK-headquartered Shell at the annual event, for potential collaboration and exploration opportunities globally.
At the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a roundtable meeting with global executives, Indian public and private sector energy companies. The CEOs would include executives of TotalEnergies, bp, Vitol, HD Hyundai, HD KSOE, Aker, Lanzatech, Vedanta, Excelerate, Wood Mckenzie, Trafigura, Staatsolie, Praj and ReNew.
Further, Puri would co-chair the 'India-Arab Energy Dialogue' which would include representatives from UAE, Oman, Jordan, Sudan and Djibouti. Other meetings would include India-Japan Roundtable, India-Netherlands Roundtable and the India-Iceland Roundtable, with business representatives from respective countries.
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