BPCL

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 17 (Reuters) - Indian state-owned fuel retailers are seeking advance payments for gasoline and gasoil supplied to fuel pumps nationwide, dealers said, as the companies are suffering significant revenue losses from retail sales.

About 90% of the country's 101,470 retail fuel stations are linked to state refiners and retailer Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp JPCL.NS.

Indian refiners, hit hard by a declining rupee, are facing revenue losses from retail sales as cracks for gasoline GL92-SIN-CRK and gasoil GO10SGCKMc1 surged to multi-year highs.

India has not raised the retail prices of gasoline and gasoil to shield consumers despite a surge in global oil prices LCOc1 to over $100 per barrel as the supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The three fuel retailers did not respond to Reuters email seeking comments.

The state refiners were previously giving a five-day credit to the dealers for the sale of gasoline and gasoil, dealers said.

"Dealers are very upset because we also run our business on credit, and some dealers sell fuel to the clients, such as government departments and transporters, on a credit basis," said Ajay Bansal, President of All India Petroleum Dealers Association, which represents about 92,000 fuel stations in the country.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Michael Perry)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

NEW DELHI, March 16 (Reuters) - Indian state fuel retailers sold about 1.15 million metric ton of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the first half of March, a decline of 17.3% from a year earlier and 26.3% from the same period in the previous month, preliminary sales data show.

India, which relies heavily on the Middle East for meeting its LPG consumption, is reeling under its worst LPG crisis in decades, with the government cutting supplies for industries to shield ​households from any shortage of cooking gas.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma
Editing by Bernadette Baum)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, March 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's hunger for energy imports remains its Achilles heel. Pair that with a war roiling the petro-states of the Gulf, home to some 10 million Indian expatriates who account for 38% of the country's inward remittances, and it's easy to see why the U.S.-Israel war against Iran has put the world's fifth-largest economy on edge.

Opposition politicians jeered Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's foreign minister, on Monday during his speech in parliament on the conflict after crude shot up to $119 a barrel and the Indian rupee hit a fresh low of 92.35 against the U.S. dollar. It was already the worst-performing major Asian currency in 2025.

There will be limited relief from Washington's green light for Indian companies including Reliance Industries RELI.NS to buy otherwise-sanctioned Russian oil. Juicy discounts on that supply narrowed long ago, and now there will be more competition from other buyers.

And in a situation of very limited supply, India's stockpile can only meet its needs for 25 days, per a Reuters report citing refining sources. India's demand for liquefied natural gas is a problem too. It imports 80% of its needs from the Middle East. New Delhi on Tuesday curbed supply to industries, a day after extending waiting periods for cooking gas.

India has multiple levers it can pull to shield consumers from any price shock. New Delhi can ask state-backed fuel retailers like Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Indian Oil IOC.NS to absorb the increased cost. At a pinch, the government could cut excise duties, albeit at the cost of a wider budget gap. Inflation in India is also low: retail prices grew 2.75% year-on-year in January.

Protecting the rupee, however, is harder. Bigger fiscal deficits in national accounts will hurt. India's central bank intervened on Monday to stem the currency's slide. Though the price of oil receded to $92 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the war would be over "very soon", it remains volatile. If it held at $100 per barrel for three months, India’s current account deficit could rise to 2% of GDP from the baseline assumption of 1.6%, according to Gaura Sengupta, an economist at IDFC First Bank. That would be close to the 2.3% level clocked in 2008-09, soon after the global financial crisis.

India's currency is already suffering from weak net foreign direct investment and capital outflows, in part because of worries about the threat new artificial intelligence tools pose to India's services exports. A prolonged war in the Middle East will really grease the rupee's problems.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

India does not expect inflation to rise substantially from a jump in global crude oil prices triggered by the war in the ​Middle East, as domestic price levels remain near the lower end ‌of the central bank's tolerance band, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on March 9.

The Indian rupee fell to an all-time low of 92.3475 against the U.S. dollar on the same day, as surging crude prices sparked concerns over growth and ​inflation in the world's fifth-largest economy.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

By Sethuraman N R

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - India will likely lean more on its coal capacity to meet peak power demand this summer as liquefied natural gas supplies tighten after shipping disruptions linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran hit exports from major producers, two industry officials said.

New Delhi typically pushes power plants to ramp up generation during the April-June summer months, including costly gas-fired generation, to meet surging electricity demand and subsidises the cost for companies to shield customers from higher prices.

But so far the government has received no bids from power companies to supply 12,000 megawatt-hour of gas-based power for the summer months, an official with knowledge of the matter said. The tender will close in the next two days.

A second official said the power ministry is looking to bring coal plants out of planned outages and advising generators to avoid shutdowns during the peak summer months.

Top utility NTPC NTPC.NS has already told India's grid regulator it will not be able to supply gas-fired power during the April–June summer months, two company sources said.

NTPC and the federal power ministry did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

EMERGENCY PROVISIONS

India has invoked emergency provisions and declared force majeure, reprioritising natural gas supplies to key sectors such as households and fertiliser plants.

India's Petronet LNG Ltd PLNG.NS, the country's top gas importer, has also issued a force majeure notice to customers including top power suppliers GAIL (India) Ltd, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS after supplies from Qatar and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were halted.

The country has about 20 gigawatts (GW) of gas-based generation capacity, which typically operates at 6-10% utilisation due to costly LNG, but rises to about 30% during the summer months.

Even if peak demand reaches 250–260 GW this summer, India is unlikely to face material power cuts given ample coal, lignite, nuclear, hydro and wind capacity, said Gautam Shahi, senior director at Crisil Ratings.

India relies on coal power for nearly 75% of its power generation.

"India's thermal coal market is seeing steady import demand, particularly for coal grades used by power producers," said Vasudev Pamnani, director at Gujarat-based coal trader i-Energy Resources.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]/))

Adds details throughout

March 9 (Reuters) - Indian refiners slumped on Monday as a widening U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed Brent crude to a nearly four-year high, threatening their near-term earnings and raising the risk of further government intervention.

State-run Indian Oil IOC.NS dipped 4.6%, Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS slid 4.9% and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS dropped 5.4%, with BPCL heading for its steepest fall since June 2024.

The rout dragged the Nifty oil and gas index .NIFOILGAS down 2.7% and the energy index .NIFTYENR 2.1% lower, while the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI slid 2.8%. The oil and gas index has fallen 6.6% since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran last week.

India's top refiner Reliance Industries RELI.NS was down 0.4% after slipping 2.5% earlier.

UBS said Indian oil marketing companies are exposed to the crude spike because their fuel sales far exceed their production - roughly double for IOC and BPCL, and even more for HPCL.

The brokerage downgraded IOC and BPCL to "neutral" and HPCL to "sell" from "buy".

It also reduced fiscal 2027 profit estimates by 19% for IOC, 15% for BPCL and 46% for HPCL.

RISKS OF PROLONGED CONFLICT

Oil prices surged about 26% to $119.5 per barrel - the highest since July 2022 - as some major producers cut supplies and fears ​of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market.

Iraq and Kuwait have begun reducing oil output, adding to earlier liquefied natural gas (LNG) cuts from Qatar as the war disrupted shipments out of the Middle East.

Citi on Monday warned refiners' earnings will hinge on how long the geopolitical shock persists, flagging risks from any potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz and shutdowns in Qatar's LNG output - each supplying roughly half of India's crude and LNG needs.

India, the world's second-biggest importer of LPG, consumed 33.15 million metric tons of the cooking gas last year, with imports meeting about two-thirds of demand. Middle Eastern suppliers account for 85%-90% of India's LPG inflows.

New Delhi on Friday invoked emergency powers directing refiners to maximise liquefied petroleum gas production to prevent a cooking-gas shortage following supply disruptions.

Prolonged turmoil could force additional government intervention, including export curbs, duties on refined products or direct budgetary support, Citi added.

Meanwhile, Indian companies raised LPG prices for the first time in about a year on Friday, tracking global benchmarks as the war crimps flows from the Middle East.

India imports more than 80% of its crude oil needs and is the world's third largest oil importer.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

(([email protected]; 8800437922; [email protected];))

Adds U.S. Treasury license in paragraph 2, Treasury Secretary comments in paragraphs 3-5

By Nidhi Verma, Jarrett Renshaw and Steve Holland

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Indian refiners are buying millions of barrels of prompt Russian crude oil cargoes as the South Asian nation seeks to navigate an oil supply crunch triggered by the Middle East conflict, six sources familiar with the matter said.

After months of Washington pressuring New Delhi to avoid buying Russian barrels in an effort to reduce money flowing to Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a 30-day waiver on Thursday allowing India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea.

"To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

"This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea," he said in a statement.

He called it a stopgap measure, as Washington expects India to eventually buy more U.S. oil.

India is vulnerable to energy supply shocks, with crude stocks covering only about 25 days of demand. India gets about 40% of its oil imports from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz.

India was the top buyer of Russian seaborne crude after Moscow's 2022 Ukraine invasion, but in January, its refiners started to reduce purchases under pressure from Washington.

Cutting Russian oil purchases helped New Delhi avoid 25% tariffs and clinch an interim trade deal with the U.S.

It is unclear whether the United States has allowed India to increase Russian purchases to offset potential Middle Eastern supply losses.

A source directly involved with the matter said India had approached U.S. President Donald Trump's administration seeking approval to buy Russian crude imports due to the Iran conflict.

India's oil and foreign ministries did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comments. The White House and the U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

State refiners Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS are talking to traders for prompt delivery of Russian cargoes, according to the Reuters sources.

One of the sources said Indian state refiners have bought about 20 million barrels of Russian oil from traders so far.

HPCL and MRPL last received Russian oil in November, according to data obtained from industry sources.

The traders are selling Russian Urals to India at a premium of $4-$5 per barrel to Brent on a delivered basis for arrival at Indian ports in March and early April, three of the sources said.

This is in contrast to a discount of about $13 per barrel for cargoes traded in February, traders said.

HPCL had bought two cargoes of Russian oil at a $13 discount before the war started on February 28.

"India refiners are back in the market ... nowadays more than prices, availability of molecules is the issue," said one of the traders involved in Russian oil sales to India.

This source said Reliance Industries RELI.NS also approached his company for the purchase of prompt Russian oil cargoes.

Refiners in India had already started tapping Russian oil aboard vessels floating off the country's coast to make up for the loss of Middle Eastern crude, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said earlier in the day.

Indian refiners did not immediately respond to Reuters emails sent out after business hours.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Jarrett Renshaw and Steve Holland in Washington and additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by David Gregorio and Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

Adds details on ONGC Petro Addition in final paragraphs

By Sethuraman N R

NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - India's GAIL (India) GAIL.NS said on Thursday it will assess curbing supplies to natural gas customers after a force majeure notice from long-term supplier Petronet LNG PLNG.NS over constraints on vessels as conflict escalates in the Middle East.

The U.S. and Israel's war on Iran has disrupted fuel shipments from the Gulf, affecting India's imports of liquefied natural gas from key supplier Qatar.

Fallout from the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and a widening war has brought the transit of oil and LNG through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt after some vessels in the area were hit.

The allocation of LNG from Petronet to GAIL has been reduced to zero with effect from March 4, GAIL said, adding that the potential impact from the force majeure could not be quantified.

LNG supplies to GAIL from other sources and suppliers are currently unaffected, the gas marketing company said in a statement to stock exchanges.

Petronet LNG, India's top gas importer, on Wednesday issued a force majeure notice to its supplier, QatarEnergy, and to local buyers like GAIL and Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, after its LNG tankers were unable to reach the LNG loading terminal at Ras Laffan, it said in an exchange filing.

GAIL and IOC have already reduced gas supplies to industrial customers, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

India imported 27 million metric tons of LNG in 2024/25, about half of its overall gas consumption, according to government data. The bulk of the LNG comes from Qatar.

Separately, ONGC Petro Additions also said that it is operating its Dahej gas cracker in western India at a "drastically" lower capacity due to falling supplies of gas and other feedstock.

Lower run rates at the Dahej cracker will impact downstream petrochemical plants, it said.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Tom Hogue and Louise Heavens)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

Recasts, adds details from sources

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 4 (Reuters) - Several Indian companies have restricted the domestic supply of natural gas, including to the important fertiliser sector, under a force majeure clause due to an escalating conflict in the Middle East, gas importers and sources said on Wednesday.

The U.S and Israel's air war on Iran has disrupted fuel shipments in the region, affecting India's key supplier of liquefied natural gas, Qatar.

Sources familiar with the matter said lower gas supplies had already marginally hit production of some fertiliser companies including the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd and Kribhco Fertilizers Ltd.

The two companies did not respond to Reuters' request for comment outside normal working hours.

Gujarat Gas Ltd, which supplies gas for domestic and industrial clients, said in a stock exchange filing that it had declared a force majeure to restrict gas supplies to industries from Thursday. Its parent company, GSPC, gets most of the gas from Qatar and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co for sale to local customers.

India's top gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd PLNG.NS issued a force majeure notice to its supplier, QatarEnergy, and to local buyers GAIL (India) Ltd GAIL.NS, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, after its three LNG tankers were unable to reach the Ras Laffan loading port, it said in an exchange filing.

GAIL and IOC have already reduced gas supplies to industries, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

QatarEnergy has also issued a notice to Petronet "indicating a potential event of force majeure" due to the hostilities in the region, the Indian company said.

So far the companies have not announced any cuts in gas supplies for households or the automobile sector.

India imported 27 million tonnes of LNG in 2024/25, about half of its overall gas consumption, according to the government data. The bulk of the LNG is imported from Qatar.

As a result of the attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory strikes, transit through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally, as well as large quantities of liquefied natural gas, has ground to a near-halt after some vessels in the area were hit.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Andrei Khalip)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

** Indian oil marketing companies' (OMC) shares drop as oil prices surged more than 8% on Monday after Iran and Israel stepped up attacks

** BPCL BPCL.NS down nearly 3.5%, Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS drops about 2.6%, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS loses 4%

** Higher oil prices weigh on the margins of OMCs

** Analysts expect oil prices to remain elevated over the coming days

** Upstream oil companies ONGC ONGC.NS up 1.3%, Oil India OILI.NS rises 1.78%

(Reporting by Komal Salecha in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• INCORPORATES SUBSIDIARY IN SINGAPORE FOR ENERGY TRADING

Source text: ID:nNSET4m4x

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds context in paragraph 2, details on Chevron's sale to Reliance in paragraph 8, details throughout

By Marianna Parraga, Shariq Khan and Arathy Somasekhar

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Trading houses and buyers of Venezuelan oil have chartered the first very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to export from the South American country since a Caracas-Washington supply deal began, a move that will boost deliveries to India, according to four sources and shipping data.

The use of larger vessels, which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil each, is expected to cut transportation costs for traders and buyers, alleviate a shortage of smaller tankers and accelerate the pace of deliveries starting next month, which could drain the millions of barrels stored in Venezuela more rapidly.

At least three VLCCs chartered by Vitol and Trafigura, the Nissos Kea, Nissos Kythnos and Arzanah, have been assigned March loading windows at Venezuela's main oil terminal, Jose, which is operated by state energy firm PDVSA and handles up to 70% of total crude exports. The tankers are bound for India, the sources said.

Another supertanker, Olympic Lion, was signaling Venezuela as its destination this week with the expected arrival in late March, according to LSEG ship tracking. The charterer was not immediately known.

Most of Venezuela's crude exports had moved since January in Panamaxes and Aframaxes, medium-sized tankers that can carry between 450,000 and 700,000 barrels of heavy oil each, to U.S. refineries. The oil has also moved on Suezmax vessels, which can carry up to 1 million barrels, to terminals in the Caribbean, where traders have been storing oil and shipping it to U.S. and European ports, according to vessel movement data.

BIGGER CARGOES, LOWER COSTS?

The larger cargoes could reduce costs for trading houses, which have complained that prices around $15 per barrel below Brent for Venezuela's Merey heavy crude agreed last month for initial purchases have become too expensive, amid the market's backwardation, in which shipments for later delivery are cheaper than near-term supplies.

U.S. oil major Chevron CVX.N sold its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS since December 2023, according to shipping data and two sources. The Boscan crude cargo, expected to be shipped on the Ottoman Sincerity vessel, marks the first sale of the heavy oil in about six years.

Reliance also bought a 2-million-barrel cargo from Vitol for March loading, and is seeking direct purchases from PDVSA, separate sources said.

Chevron did not immediately comment on the cargoes, but said in its annual report on Tuesday it would continue delivering Venezuelan crude to the international market, which it had not previously disclosed, and to the U.S. Reliance did not respond outside office hours.

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura have been exporting Venezuelan crude this year as part of a $2 billion deal between the U.S. and Venezuela, and have recently sold Venezuelan heavy crude cargoes to Indian refiners, including Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and HPCL Mittal Energy (HMEL) as the Asian country tries to reduce Russian oil imports.

India was the third-largest buyer of Venezuelan crude before Washington imposed sanctions in 2019. The country's oil exports bounced to some 800,000 barrels per day in January as a U.S. oil blockade ended, but the rapid increase from some 500,000 bpd exported in December has left millions of barrels originally intended for U.S. and European buyers unsold in storage.

PDVSA and Vitol did not reply to requests for comment. Trafigura declined to comment.

MORE CARGOES TO THE U.S.

Chevron and U.S. refiners, including Valero Energy VLO.N, Phillips 66 PSX.N and Citgo Petroleum are preparing to boost Venezuelan oil processing at their refineries, which is also expected to raise exports.

Chevron and some U.S. refiners have hired dozens of Aframaxes and Panamaxes, mostly under time-charter contracts for Venezuela, two of the sources said, which means they will exclusively transport Venezuelan oil in the contract period.

Valero, Phillips 66 and Citgo did not respond to requests for comment.

The trading houses' move to larger tankers should ease the search for medium-sized vessels to depart from the Caribbean, which many companies have struggled with, two sources said.

Trafigura, Vitol and Chevron have been exporting the OPEC country's oil under individual U.S. licenses, but in late January, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license broadly allowing oil exports.

The new authorization is expected to progressively expand the pool of buyers and the cargoes' destinations.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Shariq Khan, Arathy Somasekhar, Georgina McCartney and Nicole Jao. Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb, Rod Nickel)

(([email protected]; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters Messaging: @mariannaparraga))

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Pine Labs Ltd PINL.NS:

• PINE LABS AWARDED MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS BY 3 INDIAN OMCS

• CONTRACTS FROM BPCL, HPCL, AND IOCL

Source text: ID:nnAZN4SHR2B

Further company coverage: PINL.NS

(([email protected];;))

HOUSTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - WTI Midland and WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, remained weak on Friday, as high freight rates capped export demand.

WTI Midland traded at a 25-cent premium. It had touched its lowest in about seven months on Thursday. MEH traded at 95 cents, the lowest in over a month.

Coastal grades climbed as WTI's discount to Brent remained wide at minus $5.31 a barrel. A discount larger than $4 a barrel typically drives higher demand for barrels across the Atlantic, as traders spot an arbitrage window.

On the supply side, oil rigs held at 409 this week, Baker Hughes said.

• Light Louisiana Sweet for March delivery eased 5 cents to a midpoint of a $2.25 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $2.00 and $2.50 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• Mars Sour rose 15 cents to trade at parity, and was seen bid and offered between a 20-cent premium and a 20-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1

• WTI Midland gained 10 cents to a midpoint of a 25-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between flat and a 50-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• West Texas Sour rose 35 cents to a midpoint of a $3 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $3.25 and $3.75 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a 75-cent and $1.15 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• ICE Brent April futures LCOc1 rose 10 cents to settle at $71.76 a barrel

• WTI March crude CLc1 futures eased 4 cents to settle at $66.39 a barrel

• The Brent/WTI spread narrowed 6 cents to last trade at minus $5.31, after hitting a high of minus $5.19 and a low of minus $5.32

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Nia Williams)

(([email protected]))

HOUSTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Physically traded offshore grades rose on Thursday, dealers said, as the spread between WTI and Brent crude futures stayed wide and domestic crude stocks fell.

A discount larger than $4 a barrel typically drives higher demand for barrels across the Atlantic, as traders spot an arbitrage window.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday, as demand rose from refineries to the fuel pump.

Crude inventories fell by 9 million barrels to 419.8 million barrels in the week ended February 13, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1-million-barrel rise.

Oil futures rose around 2% to settle at their highest level in six months, as traders worried about escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, which have stepped up military activity in the oil-producing Middle East.

• Light Louisiana Sweet for March delivery rose 5 cents to a midpoint of a $2.30 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $2.00 and $2.60 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• Mars Sour rose 10 cents to a midpoint of a 15-cent discount and was seen bid and offered between a 25-cent and 5-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• WTI Midland fell 15 cents to a midpoint of a 15-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 5-cent and 25-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• West Texas Sour fell 45 cents to a midpoint of a $3.35 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $3.45 and $3.25 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• WTI at East Houston , also known as MEH, traded between a 75-cent and 95-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• ICE Brent April futures LCOc1 rose $1.31 to settle at $71.66 a barrel

• WTI March crude CLc1 futures rose $1.24 to settle at $66.43 a barrel

• The Brent/WTI spread narrowed 6 cents to last trade at minus $5.24, after hitting a high of minus $5.18 and a low of minus $5.33

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

(([email protected]))

HOUSTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. coastal crude oil grades firmed on Wednesday as a wide discount for U.S. crude to the global benchmark Brent supported export demand.

Mars and Thunder Horse firmed 50 cents, while Southern Green Canyon firmed $1.

The spread between WTI and Brent widened to as much as minus $5.26, the most this month. A spread larger than minus $4 typically encourages export demand, driving prices higher.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 609,000 barrels in the week ended February 13, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Gasoline inventories fell by 312,000 barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 1.57 million barrels from a week earlier, the sources said.

U.S. refiners Phillips 66 PSX.N and Citgo Petroleum are seeking to buy heavy crude directly from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA starting in April to maximize profits, rather than purchasing through trading houses and U.S. oil major Chevron CVX.N according to sources familiar with the efforts.

India's state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS has made its first-ever purchase of Venezuelan oil, and private refiner HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has bought the South American country's crude for the first time in two years, three sources familiar with the trade said on Wednesday.

In refining news, U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 1.17 million barrels per day of capacity offline in the week ending February 20, increasing available refining capacity by 410,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said on Wednesday.

• Light Louisiana Sweet for March delivery rose 50 cents to a midpoint of a $2.25 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $2.00 and $2.50 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• Mars Sour firmed 50 cents to a midpoint of a 25-cent discount and was seen bid and offered between​ a discount of 50 cents and parity to U.S. crude futures CLc1

• WTI Midland eased 15 cents to a midpoint of a 30-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between parity and a 60-cent​ a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• West Texas Sour eased 15 cents to a midpoint of a $2.90 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $3.10 and $2.70 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

• WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a 70-cent and $1.20 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

• ICE Brent April futures LCOc1 rose $2.93 to settle at $70.35 a barrel on Wednesday​.

• WTI March crude futures CLc1 rose $2.86 to settle at $65.19 a barrel on Wednesday​.

• The Brent/WTI spread widened 10 cents to last trade at minus $5.26, after hitting a high of minus $5.17 and a low of minus $5.33.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; +1 832 610 7346; X: @ArathySom; https://www.linkedin.com/in/arathy-somasekhar-b7724371/))

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Oil India Ltd OILI.NS Exec:

• TO OPERATE 9 MTPA NUMALIGARH REFINERY AT 50% CAPACITY IN MARCH QUARTER

• ON COURSE TO CROSS LAST YEAR'S RECORD ANNUAL PRODUCTION LEVELS

• HAS OPTION TO RAISE STAKE TO OVER 10% IN PLANNED REFINERY BY BPCL IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: OILI.NS

(([email protected];))

Repeats story with no changes to text

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Indian refiners are avoiding Russian oil purchases for delivery in April and are expected to stay away from such trades for longer, refining and trade sources said, a move that could help New Delhi seal a trade pact with Washington.

The U.S. and India moved closer to a trade pact on Friday, announcing a framework for a deal they hope to conclude by March that would lower tariffs and deepen economic cooperation.

Indian Oil IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Reliance Industries RELI.NS are not accepting offers from traders for Russian oil loading in March and April, said a trader who approached the refiners.

These refiners, however, had already scheduled some deliveries of Russian oil in March, refining sources said. Most other refiners have stopped buying Russian crude.

TRUMP SAYS INDIA 'COMMITTED' TO HALTING PURCHASES

The three refiners and the oil ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The trade minister on Saturday referred questions about Russian oil to the foreign ministry.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said: "Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy" to ensure energy security for the world's most-populous nation.

Although a U.S.-India statement on the trade framework did not mention Russian oil, President Donald Trump rescinded his 25% tariffs on Indian goods, imposed over Russian oil purchases, because, he said, New Delhi had "committed to stop directly or indirectly" importing Russian oil.

New Delhi has not announced plans to halt Russian oil imports.

India became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, spurring a backlash from Western nations that had targeted Russia's energy sector with sanctions aimed at curtailing Moscow's revenue and making it harder to fund the war.

INDIA'S RUSSIAN-OIL IMPORTS A FRACTION OF 2025 LEVELS

One regular Indian buyer is Russia-backed private refiner Nayara, which relies solely on Russian oil for its 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery. Sources said Nayara may be allowed to keep buying Russian oil because other crude sellers pulled back after the European Union sanctioned the refiner in July.

Nayara also does not plan to import Russian crude in April due to a month-long refinery maintenance shutdown, a source familiar with its operations said.

Nayara did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Indian refiners may change their plan and place orders for Russian oil only if advised by the government, sources said.

Trump's order said U.S. officials would monitor and recommend reinstating the tariffs if India resumed oil procurement from Russia.

Sources said last month that India was preparing to cut Russian oil imports below 1 million bpd by March, with volumes eventually falling to 500,000–600,000 bpd, compared with an average 1.7 million bpd last year. India's Russian oil imports topped 2 million bpd in mid-2025.

The intake of Russian oil by India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, declined to its lowest level in two years in December, data from trade and industry sources show.

Indian refiners have been buying more oil from Middle Eastern, African and South American countries as they scale back Russian oil purchases.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by William Mallard)

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Corrects percent change to 12% from 9% in the headline and in paragraph 5

Feb 4 (Reuters) - India's Russian oil imports slipped in January, continuing a downturn that began in December as refiners sought more alternative barrels under Western sanctions pressure and ongoing U.S.–India trade talks, Reuters sources said and data showed.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India to cut tariffs to 18% from 50% in exchange for New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

Indian refiners have been redrawing crude import strategies in recent months to shift away from top supplier Russia and boost imports from the Middle East.

In January, India imported 1.215 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude, of which the Nayara refinery accounted for 0.41 million bpd, IOC took 0.58 million bpd, and BPCL took 0.19 million bpd, while Reliance imported no Russian crude last month, according to provisional data from analytics firm Kpler.

India's Russian oil imports in January were down by some 12% on a daily basis from last December, Reuters calculations showed. December oil imports dropped about 22% from November to 1.38 million barrels per day.

While it remains unclear to what extent India may ultimately have to scale back its imports of Russian oil, any further reductions would make it increasingly difficult and costly for Moscow to secure alternative buyers for its crude, Reuters sources said.

Indian refiners have not been told by the government to stop buying Russian oil and would need a wind-down period to complete purchases already in process, two refining sources said on Tuesday, following the trade deal with Washington.

Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world's largest refining complex, will buy up to 150,000 barrels per day of Russian oil from February for its domestic market-focused refinery, a company executive said last week.

The country's largest refiner overall, Indian Oil Corp, has committed to buying more Brazilian crude in the fiscal year starting April, after reducing Russian oil imports.

India’s reduction in purchases of Russian oil is affecting the freight market for its grades, as traders are increasingly using tankers to store Russia's Urals crude at seas.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Adds details on purchases

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Indian refiners have not been told by the government to stop buying Russian oil and would need a wind-down period to complete purchases already in process, two refining sources said on Tuesday, following a trade deal with Washington.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that included halting oil purchases from Russia, but without details on how and when such purchases by India would end.

While India has slowed Russian oil purchases, refineries have already booked cargoes loading in February and arriving in March, the sources said, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak with the media.

Trump said the trade deal would slash U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, in exchange for India lowering trade barriers, ending Russian oil purchases and importing instead from the United States and potentially Venezuela.

Modi welcomed the tariff reduction but made no mention of halting Russian oil purchases.

COMPLETE HALT OF RUSSIAN IMPORTS 'WOULD HURT NAYARA'

India became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after Moscow's war in Ukraine began in 2022, spurring a backlash from Western nations that had targeted Russia's energy sector with sanctions aimed at curtailing Moscow's revenue and making it harder to fund the war.

India will gradually cut Russian oil imports, a third source said on Tuesday, adding that a complete halt would hurt operations at Russia-backed Nayara Energy's 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery. The plant has relied solely on Russian crude following European Union sanctions on the company last July.

However, Nayara is not planning to load Russian oil in April as it will be shutting its refinery for over a month for maintenance from April 10, the third source added.

Two other refiners have paused new orders in recent days after booking volumes for February and March, industry sources said on Tuesday. One of the sources said his company may delay lifting March cargoes into April to cap India’s overall Russian oil intake.

The sources, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said future purchases would depend on government guidance.

PREPARING TO SCALE BACK RUSSIAN IMPORTS

Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Nayara have been regular buyers of Russian oil.

Reliance Industries RELI.NS, which paused buying Russian oil for a month, will buy up to 150,000 barrels per day from February, a company executive said last week.

The four companies and India's oil ministry did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Last week, sources said that India was preparing to reduce Russian oil imports to below 1 million barrels per day, with one saying such imports eventually would total 500,000–600,000 bpd.

India's Russian oil imports peaked at around 2 million bpd last June.

Trump said on Saturday India would buy Venezuelan oil, but refining sources said on Tuesday that only Reliance and Nayara had the refining capability to process heavy crude in large volumes. State refiners, they said, could not simply switch to Venezualan oil and would only be able to replace less than 10% of Russian supplies.

India's Russian oil imports fell to their lowest level in two years in December, data from trade sources showed.

Indian refiners have been buying more from Middle Eastern, African and South American countries as they scale back Russian oil purchases, refining sources said last month.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Bernadette Baum)

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Feb 2 (Reuters) - Agarwal Industrial Corporation Ltd AGWL.NS:

• WINS TENDER FROM BHARAT PETROLEUM

• TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE OF ORDER 2.19 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE4TlQzZ

Further company coverage: AGWL.NS

(([email protected];))

By Mohi Narayan and Nidhi Verma

SOUTH GOA, INDIA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A rare combination of rising fuel demand and expanding refining capacity is drawing global commodity traders to India, with firms such as Trafigura seeking long-term partnerships with state oil companies.

As consumption growth slows in most major economies, trading firm executives told the India Energy Week conference that they see opportunities across crude, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

"We see massive opportunities in India," said Sachin Gupta, chief executive of Trafigura India, pointing to strong demand for diesel, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas and adding that India would be buying "a lot" of liquefied natural gas.

Gupta expects Indian oil demand to reach closer to 9 million barrels per day by 2050, from about 5 million barrels per day currently.

On Friday, Trafigura said it signed a "landmark crude supply agreement" with Bharat Petroleum Corp to supply Iraqi Basrah and Omani crude to the Indian state refiner. BPCL also signed a term agreement with TotalEnergies TTEF.PA for the procurement of UAE crude.

GROWING DEMAND

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's largest refiner, last year signed a five-year import deal with Trafigura to buy 2.5 million metric tons of LNG in a deal valued at $1.3 billion-$1.4 billion.

IOC's head of marketing, S.P. Srivastava told reporters at the conference that the company expects annual diesel demand to grow by 2-3% and gasoline demand to rise by 5-6% by 2030.

It signed a preliminary agreement with Paris-based Engie at India Energy Week for LNG and other natural gas trading opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, IOC Chairman A.S. Sahney said.

Top gas importer Petronet LNG forecasts LNG imports will rise to 28 million-29 million tons in 2026, from about 25.5 million tons last year.

Trading giant Vitol expects most of India's refinery output to be absorbed domestically.

"There is 500,000 (barrels per day) of refining capacity coming online," said Kieran Gallagher, Vitol's Asia head. "Outside...summer seasonality and exports, largely the products derived from that capacity are going to be consumed within the country itself."

Opportunities for traders also extend to petrochemicals, where supply remains structurally short despite government estimates that production will rise by 29.62 million tons to 46 million tons by 2030.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan and Nidhi Verma; additional reporting by Anjana Anil and Tanay Dhumal; editing by Mayank Bhardwaj, Kirsten Donovan)

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Recasts lead, adds president, CEO quotes on cost negotiations in paragraphs 4 and 10-12

By Wendell Roelf, America Hernandez and Custodio Cossa

AFUNGI, Mozambique/PARIS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Mozambique and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA agreed on Thursday to relaunch construction on the French energy major's $20 billion liquefied natural gas project in the country, even as they continue negotiations over additional costs linked to delays.

Construction was halted in 2021 following Islamist militant attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, where the project is located. TotalEnergies, which has taken extra equity with its partners after some backers pulled out, said late last year it was ready to resume work.

"You will see a massive ramp-up in activity in coming months ... a first offshore vessel has already been mobilized to begin installing the offshore infrastructure," TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said at a ceremony in Afungi, near the project site in Mozambique's northeast.

"We have one target now, which is to deliver the LNG by 2029 on a budget of $20 billion, so there's a lot of work to be done," he added.

TotalEnergies, the project operator and leading shareholder, said it would provide 200 million meticals ($3.2 million) to help Mozambique deal with the effects of recent flooding.

"Within the next 12 to 18 months, we will return to this place to witness the start of construction on Rovuma LNG," said Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, referring to the Exxon XOM.N-led project that shares some facilities with Total's.

SECURITY HAS IMPROVED, COST NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING

Security has improved in Cabo Delgado, particularly with the deployment of Rwandan soldiers around the Afungi construction site. The Islamist insurgency, though weakened, continues to simmer.

With capacity to produce 13 million metric tons of LNG annually, the project is expected to make Mozambique a major gas exporter and to transform the poor African nation's economy when it comes online. But it has been dogged by security, finance and human rights issues that have spooked some investors.

In October, TotalEnergies wrote to Chapo estimating that the project's costs had risen by $4.5 billion in the years it had been on hold. It said the consortium wanted the development and production period extended by 10 years as partial compensation.

President Chapo said on Thursday the two sides would negotiate to reach a consensus on revised costs once an audit is finalised.

"What must be clear is that negotiations do not impede the project's progress. Restart is a reality," Chapo said.

"These small matters will be resolved as per our contracts and according to the rule of law," Pouyanne said, adding that Total had already received an automatic license extension to cover the nearly five-year construction delay.

TAXES, PROFITS TO BOOST GOVERNMENT COFFERS

Total has already trained about 4,500 workers to be employed on the project, Pouyanne said, with 1,500 young workers being trained in Palma, near the project site, in carpentry, electricity and other trades needed to build the plant.

Chapo said the project could generate as much as $35 billion for government coffers over its lifetime from taxes, oil profits, and other contributions.

TotalEnergies has a 26.5% stake in the Mozambique LNG consortium. Japan's Mitsui owns 20%, with ENH at 15%, and Bharat Petroleum, Oil India, and ONGC Videsh all at 10%. Thailand's PTTEP holds the remaining 8.5% stake.

($1 = 63.2500 meticais)

(Reporting by Custodio Cossa and Wendell Roelf;
Additional reporting Sfundo Parakozov in Johannesburg and America Hernandez in Paris;
Editing by Alexander Winning, Joe Bavier and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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Jan 28 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS CO SEEKING LNG THROUGH 10 YEAR IMPORT TENDER

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS BPCL SEEKS TO ANNUALLY IMPORT 4 LNG CARGOES IN FIRST 3 YRS WITH PRICING LINKED TO JKM AND BRENT

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS BPCL TO BUY 8 LNG CARGOES IN REMAINING 7 YEARS WITH PRICING LINKED TO HENRY HUB AND BRENT

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS TO EVALUATE INITIAL BIDS IN TENDER BY END OF FEB

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS WILL AWARD TENDER ONLY IF PRICES ARE AFFORDABLE FOR INDIAN MKTS

• INDIA BPCL EXEC SAYS WILL CONSIDER FLOATING LONG TERM LNG TENDER NEXT YEAR AS WELL

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** Shares of India's BPCL BPCL.NS up nearly 2% at 356 rupees

** State-run refiner's Q3 net profit jumps 62% to 75.45 bln rupees ($821.5 mln); rev from ops up 7%

** Stock, on an avg, rated "buy"; median TP 425 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock added 31% in 2025

($1 = 91.8470 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

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NEW DELHI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Indian state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS will sign a deal with Brazil's national oil company Petrobras PETR3.SA to buy 12 million barrels of Brazilian oil valued at $780 million at the India Energy Week conference next week, a government statement said on Friday.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Adds price information, details; paragraphs 1-19

By Nidhi Verma and Siyi Liu

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Indian refiners are redrawing crude import strategies to shift away from top supplier Russia and boost imports from the Middle East, a move that could help New Delhi clinch a trade deal with the United States to lower tariffs.

India became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after the 2022 outbreak of war in Ukraine, but the trade drew backlash from Western nations targeting Russia's energy sector with sanctions, saying oil revenues help it fund the war.

The shift away from Russia comes as Middle East producers, armed with higher output quotas from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, are keeping global markets well-supplied, softening the impact on prices.

INDIA REFINERS SCALE BACK RUSSIAN BUYS

Indian refiners have begun scaling back Russian oil purchases following discussions at a government meeting to help accelerate a U.S.-India trade deal, three refining sources said.

The oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell is collecting weekly data on refiners' purchases of Russia and U.S. crude, sources told Reuters this month.

In the latest change, state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS awarded one-year tenders to buy Iraqi Basrah and Omani crude to trader Trafigura and is in the market to buy Murban oil from the United Arab Emirates under a separate tender, said the sources, who sought anonymity.

From April, Trafigura will supply four cargoes of Oman crude every quarter at 75 cents a barrel below Dubai quotes and one parcel of Basrah Medium at a discount of 40 cents a barrel to the grade's official selling price, said two traders.

BPCL and India's oil ministry did not respond to Reuters requests for comments.

DOUBLING OF IMPORT TARIFFS A PUNISHMENT FOR RUSSIA BUYS

The United States, already seeking to narrow its trade deficit with India, doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year to punish it for heavy purchases of Russian oil.

State-run Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS and private refiners HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd have already stopped buying Russian oil.

India's Russian oil imports fell to their lowest in two years in December, while OPEC's share of imports hit an 11-month high, trade data showed.

Apart from the Middle East, Indian refiners have also increased purchases from regions such as Africa and South America.CRU/TENDA

Indian refiners have also boosted purchases of U.S. oil to partly replace Russian oil and narrow the trade deficit with Washington, while also scouting for Venezuelan oil.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Siyi Liu, Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Tom Hogue, Thomas Derpinghaus and Clarence Fernandez)

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Jan 20 (Reuters) - ABB India Ltd ABB.NS:

• ABB INDIA MODERNIZES BPCL PIPELINE

• MODERNIZATION OF AUTOMATION AND MONITORING SYSTEMS ACROSS BPCL VADINAR-BINA PIPELINE

Source text: ID:nBSE81bQxG

Further company coverage: ABB.NS

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SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd BPCL.NS issued a tender seeking four to eight cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for 10 years, with deliveries beginning from 2026, said two industry sources on Friday.

BPCL is seeking four cargoes per year from 2026 to 2029, and eight cargoes per year from 2030 to 2035, in a tender that closes on January 14, added one of the sources.

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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Recasts and adds details throughout

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries RELI.NS said on Tuesday it is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January, a move that could sharply cut India's Russian oil imports during the month to the lowest in years.

The statement by Reliance, operator of the world's largest refining complex and the biggest Indian buyer of Russian crude last year, came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that the U.S. could further raise import tariffs on India over its Russian oil purchases.

"Reliance Industries’s Jamnagar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil at its refinery in the past three weeks approx. and is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January," it said in a statement posted on X.

The statement denied a media report from last week that said three vessels laden with Russian oil were heading toward Reliance's Jamnagar refinery.

India emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. The purchases have fuelled a backlash from Western nations, which have targeted Russia's energy sector with sanctions, arguing that oil revenues help fund Moscow's war effort.

The U.S. doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year as punishment for its heavy purchasing of Russian oil. The two countries are currently negotiating a potential trade deal in talks that have been fraught at times.

Indian authorities asked refiners for weekly disclosures of Russian and U.S. oil purchases, people familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported last week.

The people said India's imports of Russian crude are likely to dip below 1 million barrels per day as New Delhi seeks to clinch a trade deal with Washington.

Stricter U.S. and EU sanctions have slowed Russian oil flows to India, which fell to a three-year low of about 1.2 million bpd in December, according to sources and analytics firm Kpler. That marks a roughly 40% drop from a June peak of around 2 million bpd.

With Reliance halting buying, deliveries of Russian oil to India in January are likely to be limited to Russia-backed Nayara Energy and state-run refiners Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, according to preliminary data from LSEG.

IOC, BPCL and Nayara did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Nayara Energy, which operates a 400,000-bpd refinery, is likely to be the main Indian buyer of Russian crude as its supplies are otherwise constrained by EU sanctions after other suppliers backed out, government sources have told Reuters.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Tony Munroe and Sonali Paul)

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