Indian state refiners HPCL, MRPL buy 5 million barrels of US, Mideast oil: Report

Two Indian state refiners have purchased 5 million barrels of crude oil from spot markets via tenders as they continue to scout for alternatives to Russian supplies, trade sources said.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp has bought 2 million barrels each of U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude and Abu Dhabi's Murban crude for January arrival, they said.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has bought one million barrels of Basra Medium crude for January 1-7 delivery, they said.

The identity of the sellers and pricing details were not immediately known.

Indian refiners are scouting for alternatives after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, in an attempt to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

MRPL has paused purchase of Russian oil due to the risks involved, a company source said last month.

HPCL, which has cut its intake of Russian oil in the last few months, has also paused imports from Russia.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Tom Hogue and Eileen Soreng)