Indian Oil Corpn.

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria's national oil company NNPC issued a tender calling for bids on one of its key crude grade, while the rest of the market remained subdued.

• NTL, NNPC's trading arm, issued a tender for bids on a cargo of its Bonny Light grade to be loaded in August 20-21.

• Differentials in the wider market have been pressured by weak appetite from China and both U.S. and Latin American grades coming in cheaper to Europe, traders have said this week.

• Additionally, the partial increase in flows from the Middle East was alleviating concerns of a shortage.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - The West African crude market was quiet on Thursday as demand waned and crude grades competed for market share against each other.

• Nigeria's Bonga for August 3 to August 4 loading was bought at dated flat in the Platts window earlier this week, traders said, while TotalEnergies offered Angolan Djeno at minus $14 to dated Brent.

• Differentials have been pressured by weak appetite from China and both U.S. and Latin American grades coming in cheaper to Europe, traders have said this week.

• Additionally, the partial increase in flows from the Middle East was alleviating concerns of a shortage.

• In the wider market, ExxonMobil and its partners will invest $1 billion in the Usan Infill Project offshore Nigeria, a development expected to add 40,000 barrels per day of oil production, Nigeria's upstream regulator said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen. Editing by Mark Potter)

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LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil sold Bonga to Repsol at dated Brent flat in the previous session, while West African crude differentials remained under pressure as demand waned and crude grades competed for market share against each other.

• ExxonMobil withdrew its offer of plus $1 against dated Brent of Nigeria's Bonga for Aug 3 to Aug 4 loading in the Platts window in the previous session, two traders said.

• After the window closed, Repsol bought the cargo at dated flat, one of the traders said.

• Earlier this week, TotalEnergies offered Angolan Djeno at minus $14 to dated Brent, another trader said.

• Differentials have been weighed on by a weak appetite from China and both U.S. and Latin American grades coming in cheaper to Europe, traders have said this week. Additionally, the partial increase in flows from the Middle East was alleviating concerns of a shortage.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials remained under pressure as the grades competed for market share against other crudes.

• In its latest tender, Indian Oil Corp bought cargoes of Angolan Kissanje, Dalia and Nembe and Nigerian Agambi and Usan, a trader said.

• Senning, a London-based subsidiary of China National Petroleum, offered down Chad's Doba crude to minus $4 to dated Brent in the previous session from minus $1.95 on July 1, he added.

• TotalEnergies sold its July-end Djeno grade, another trader said, which was first offered at minus $14 to dated Brent in the previous session.

• Differentials have been weighed on by a weak appetite from China and both U.S. and Latin American grades coming in cheaper into Europe, given that more cargoes are making it through the Strait of Hormuz, traders have said.

• In the wider market, Nigerian oil producer Renaissance Energy said it had made an oil discovery offshore Nigeria after drilling an exploration well in Oil Mining Lease 74, its first major success since taking over the asset last year.

• The country is currently pumping 1.71 million barrels of oil a day, NNPC Ltd chief Bashir Ojulari said, including record output of 365,000 bpd from the state oil firm's exploration and production unit.

• Nigeria's Dangote Group plans to finance a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Kenya through internal cash flow, bonds and an initial public offering, a senior company executive told Reuters.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials remained under pressure on Monday, moving lower on a larger supply of crude.

• West African excess barrels have to compete with Middle Eastern grades coming to Europe, more U.S. WTI flows to Europe and volumes from strategic reserves, traders have told Reuters.

• Additionally, Indian Oil Corporation issued a tender last week.

• In the wider market, Nigeria pumped around 1.65 million barrels per day in June, according to a Reuters survey on output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It had a quota of 1.50 million bpd.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen)

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LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were under pressure from higher supply of crude, traders said on Friday, while an IOC buying tender was in focus.

• Indian Oil Corporation issued a tender whose results would be out soon, a trader said.

• "It feels like the levels are coming off ... freight (is also) too expensive," he added.

• Additionally, higher U.S. exports were also weighing on the market, with a lot coming into Europe, he said.

• West African excess barrels have to compete with Middle Eastern grades coming to Europe, more U.S. WTI flows to Europe, volumes from strategic reserves and Caspian CPC Blend, traders and analysts said this week.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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NEW DELHI, July 1 (Reuters) - India's gasoline and diesel sales continued to rise in June, according to preliminary data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the federal oil ministry.

• Gasoline sales surged 7% in June from a year earlier to about 3.77 million metric tons.

• Sales of diesel, mostly used by trucks, rose to 8.55 million tons, up 5.52% from June last year, the data showed.

• Sales of jet fuel fell 0.6% to 726,000 tons.

• Indian refiners' sales of liquefied petroleum gas, mainly used as a cooking fuel, declined 16.7% to 2.18 million tons as the government regulated use of the fuel amid supply disruptions from the Middle East.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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By Florence Tan and Emily Chow

SINGAPORE, June 24 (Reuters) - Three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil were exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed, as the interim deal between Iran and the U.S. unlocks more supply stuck in the Gulf, bringing down global prices.

South Korean-flagged VL Breeze, a Very Large Crude Carrier carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari condensate and Abu Dhabi crude, passed the strait and is heading to Daesan, data from LSEG and Kpler showed. The supertanker is chartered by South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank.

VLCC Plata Carrier, chartered by Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, is heading out of the strait with 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, alongside Suezmax tanker Prudent Warrior, which is heading for Sohar, Oman, with 1 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, the data showed. Both are sailing under the Liberian flag.

Hyundai Oilbank and IOC could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kpler and Vortexa analysts estimated last week that close to 90 million barrels of crude were stuck inside the Gulf.

South Korea's maritime ministry said on Wednesday that four vessels operated by South Korean shippers had exited the strait and were sailing to their destinations, one to South Korea and the others to third countries.

Eighteen of the 26 vessels that had been stranded since the start of the Middle East conflict remain in the Gulf, the ministry said.

It was not immediately clear whether the ships were sailing along the temporary maritime corridors established by Oman and the International Maritime Organization to help ships leave the area safely.

Oman said it would keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping without imposing any tolls, having designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels departing the region.

Two empty liquefied natural gas tankers — Shandong Redwood and Milaha Qatar — were the latest to be seen west of the strait to load cargoes from Qatar, shipping data showed.

This brings the known empty LNG ships transiting through the strait to load at Qatar to nine, the largest number since the war began.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the Gulf state would resume normal LNG production within a few weeks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Jonathan Saul in London; additional reporting by Jack Kim and Heejin Kim in Seoul; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, June 23 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS has received no bids in tenders to charter vessels for lifting crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas cargoes from ports within the Strait of Hormuz, said two trade sources familiar with the matter.

India's top refiner and fuel retailer last week floated three tenders to charter a very large gas carrier (VLGC), a very large crude carrier and a Suezmax.

Indian state refiners mostly buy oil and LPG from the Middle Eastern producers on free-on-board basis.

A VLCC typically carries 2 million barrels of oil, and a VLGC can hold about 45,000 metric tons of LPG - a mix of propane and butane used in India mainly as a cooking gas. A Suezmax carries about one million barrels of oil.

"No one wants to take a risk as yet of going into the Strait. Most ship owners are in wait-and-watch mode as they want clarity on the terms of getting into the strait," said a ship broker.

Indian Oil was seeking to lift about 45,000 metric tons of LPG between June 30 and July 4 from the ports of Ras Laffan in Qatar, Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait, or Ruwais in the UAE.

The refiner was looking to charter a VLCC to lift oil from Mina Al Ahmadi between June 28 and 29 and a Suezmax for loading cargo between June 29 and 30 from Ras Al Khafji port in Saudi Arabia for deliveries on India's west coast.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Recasts, adds details on crude tenders

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, June 18 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, the country's top refiner, issued tenders on Thursday to charter vessels to lift liquefied petroleum gas and oil from ports inside the Strait of Hormuz, tender documents showed.

The tenders - the first to be issued by IOC since the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement to end their war and reopen the waterway - are for chartering a very large gas carrier (VLGC), a Suezmax tanker and a very large crude carrier (VLCC), the documents show.

A VLCC typically carries 2 million barrels of oil, and a VLGC can hold about 45,000 metric tons of LPG - a mix of propane and butane used in India mainly as a cooking gas. A Suezmax carries about a million barrels of oil.

IOC seeks to lift LPG between June 30 and July 4 from the ports of Ras Laffan in Qatar, Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait or Ruwais in the UAE, the document showed.

The refiner is looking to charter a VLCC to lift oil from Mina Al Ahmadi between June 28 and 29 and a Suezmax for loading cargo between June 29 and 30 from Ras Al Khafji port in Saudi Arabia for deliveries on India's west coast, the document showed.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Joe Bavier)

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NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold at least 30 million barrels of spot crude to Asian refiners and trading firms so far this month and offered more this week, trade sources said, boosting exports during the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

The United Arab Emirates producer sold cargoes of Das, Upper Zakum and Umm Lulu crude to refiners in India, China, South Korea and Japan as well as to global trading houses. Some were priced at flat to slight premiums to Dubai benchmarks for loading between June and August, the sources said.

The three crude grades are produced from fields inside the Gulf and must be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

The sales were conducted over the past two weeks, ahead of the signing of a preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end their conflict.

ASIAN BUYERS

Indian state refiners Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS have bought a combined 6 million barrels of Abu Dhabi oil so far this month, the sources said.

The cargoes were sold at parity or premiums of $1–$2 a barrel to Dubai prices on a cost-and-delivered basis via ship transfers at Fujairah, they added.

ADNOC's sales also included 3 million barrels of Das crude to Japan's largest refiner Eneos and 1 million barrels to South Korea's GS Energy.

For Upper Zakum, China's Unipec, the trading arm of state giant Sinopec, bought 6 million to 8 million barrels, while Vitol took 4 million barrels and Rongsheng Petrochemical 2 million barrels, the sources said.

South Korea's largest refiner SK Energy bought 7 million barrels of Umm Lulu crude, they added. Some cargoes were sold at premiums, two of the traders said. The companies typically do not comment on commercial sales.

ADNOC offered the cargoes on a free-on-board basis from storage at Fujairah, or from terminals at Zirku or Das Island, as well as via ship-to-ship transfers off the UAE, Oman or Malaysia. Buyers also had the option of cost-and-freight delivery.

ADNOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the Iran war began, ADNOC has exported crude and products by switching off transponders to reduce the risk of Iranian attacks, with cargoes either transferred ship-to-ship or sailing directly to buyers.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore. Editing by Mark Potter)

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Updates with government statement in paragraphs 5-7

By Nidhi Verma and Kanjyik Ghosh

NEW DELHI, June 12 (Reuters) - India has barred commercial fuel buyers from purchasing gasoline and diesel from retail stations and capped daily diesel purchases to prevent local shortages amid disruptions to global supply chains due to the war in the Middle East.

Retail fuel station dealers have been directed to sell no more than 200 litres of diesel per customer or vehicle a day, according to a government order issued late on Thursday, which added that buyers cannot resell the fuel.

Commercial users such as trucking companies have been buying diesel from retail outlets of state-run companies, where prices are lower than at ​bulk supply points, leading to shortages at pumps in ‌some areas.

The government said restrictions were needed to ensure equitable availability of petrol and diesel, prevent diversion and hoarding, and maintain uninterrupted fuel supplies at fair prices.

PRICE ARBITRAGE

Diesel, which accounts for about 40% of India's fuel demand, is sold at market rates to industrial users at about 40 rupees per litre more than retail prices, the government said.

Diesel sales by private retailers, which price fuel closer to market rates, fell 58% last month, while those of state-run companies surged, with some areas seeing increases of more than 30%, the government said.

"The measures are aimed at large/bulk consumers who should not be procuring diesel from Retail Outlets to take undue advantage of the price arbitrage," it said.

India is a net exporter of refined fuels, but higher domestic sales at subsidised rates are hitting the profitability of state retailers Indian Oil Corp IOCL.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS.

The three companies control about 90% of India's more than 100,000 fuel stations.

Referring to the Iran war, the order said geopolitical tensions have strained global petroleum supply chains, shipping logistics and product availability, making prudent management and conservation necessary.

The measures will remain in force for an initial period of up to 90 days unless revoked earlier, the order said.

($1 = 95.7500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona. Editing by Sonali Paul and Mark Potter)

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SINGAPORE, June 8 (Reuters) - Chinese refiners have delayed two projects slated to come online this year following disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies from the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war, people familiar with the matter said.

The delays, which affect a combined capacity of 500,000 barrels per day, could cap fresh Chinese oil demand as well as global crude prices as refiners in the world's top crude importer already face headwinds from flagging fuel consumption.

Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co (HAPCO), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco 2222.SE and Chinese state-owned defense conglomerate Norinco Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group, has pushed back the startup of its 300,000 bpd refinery in the northeastern city of Panjin to September or early October from May or June, five people familiar with the matter said.

Consultancy Energy Aspects has said it expects the refinery to start in the latter part of the third quarter because of feedstock supply uncertainty linked to the Hormuz disruption.

HAPCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Aramco declined to comment on questions about HAPCO's start-up timeline.

Aramco said in 2023 it would supply up to 210,000 bpd of crude to HAPCO. The project includes a 1.65 million metric tons-per-year (tpy) ethylene cracker and a 2 million tpy paraxylene unit.

Separately, the planned restart of a 200,000 bpd crude unit at PetroChina's Dalian refinery has been postponed indefinitely, according to three sources familiar with the project.

Reuters reported in January that the state oil firm planned to restart the plant around mid-year to capitalise on strong margins from processing discounted Russian crude. However, those discounts have largely disappeared since the conflict disrupted global supplies and increased competition for Russian barrels.

PetroChina, which has not publicly confirmed plans for the restart of the Dalian unit, did not respond to a request for comment.

The delays come as the Iran conflict has crunched refiners' margins, with the Middle East oil supply disruption driving up crude prices, while they face state fuel price caps. At the same time fuel demand has weakened due to electric vehicle growth.

As a result, throughput at China's refineries fell to about 13.3 million bpd in April, the lowest since August 2022, government data showed. That equates to about 69% of capacity, based on state refiners' estimates of total capacity at around 960 million metric tons a year, or about 19.2 million bpd.

INDIA AND CHINA LEAD CAPACITY ADDITIONS

Asia accounts for the bulk of new refinery capacity set to come online this year, according to analysts.

In India, state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) HPCL.NS and Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS are expected to add about 526,000 bpd refining capacity this year.

Start-up of HPCL's 180,000 bpd Barmer project was delayed a few months due to a fire, and the company has said it expects to commence operations there at 60% capacity starting this month.

Indian Oil Corp said in May that expansions at its Barauni, Gujarat and Panipat refineries will be completed in August, November and December respectively.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu, Trixie Yap in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Sam Li in Beijing; Editing by Florence Tan and Sonali Paul)

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Updates to change sourcing

June 6 (Reuters) - Domestic cooking gas LPG prices in Delhi have been increased by 29 rupees ($0.3054) per 14.2-kg cylinder.

India's largest state-run refiner and fuel retailer, Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS, has raised the price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi from 913 rupees to 942 rupees with effect from June 7, according to its website.

Indian state fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS tend to fix retail prices of fuels in tandem.

($1 = 94.9450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi)

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LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were little changed at the week's end, as traders were awaiting the sale of remaining June cargoes and assessing the first offers for July stems.

• West African crude differentials have dropped sharply in recent weeks, weighed down by low demand in Asia and competition from Latin American grades.

• A trader said earlier this week that fewer than 10 Nigerian June cargoes remained unsold, while a couple of Angolan June shipments were also overhanging.

• July Angolan offers surfaced this week. Dalia was offered for July at dated Brent minus $1.80 a barrel on Thursday, down 50 cents from Monday, and Saturno was indicated at dated Brent minus $2.00, unchanged from Monday, a trader said.

• Meanwhile, Angolan Agogo was offered at dated Brent minus $2.00 and Congolese Djeno at dated Brent minus $4.00. June Angolan Hungo was offered at dated Brent minus $4.00, a trader said on Wednesday, but no deals or updated offer levels were heard by Friday.

• In tenders this week, Indian refiner MRPL bought U.S. crude, while India's HPCL bought Brazilian Buzios from Petrobras, and Nigerian Agbami from Shell.

• In upstream news, ENI was on Friday awarded upstream exploration block A1 in the Gambia.

• In the downstream, Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery has ramped up crude processing to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) during a performance test by process licensors, exceeding its nameplate capacity of 650,000 bpd and marking a significant operational milestone, the company said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Offers of Angolan crude for July loading were steady to lower on Thursday, suggesting a market under downward pressure despite ongoing disruptions to Middle East supplies.

• July's Angolan loading programme schedules 29 cargoes.

• Angolan Dalia was offered for July at dated Brent minus $1.80 a barrel, down 50 cents from Monday, and Saturno was indicated at dated Brent minus $2.00, unchanged from Monday, a trader said.

• In April, some Angolan grades had soared to record premiums to dated Brent.

• Differentials have dropped sharply in recent weeks, weighed down by narrower refining margins and refinery run cuts, traders say.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were broadly steady on Wednesday as the final handful of June cargoes lingered.

• Less than 10 Nigerian June cargoes remained unsold, while a couple of Angolan June shipments were overhanging, a trader said on Wednesday.

• Some early July offers have surfaced in recent days, but a trader said on Tuesday that traders were mainly waiting for June cargoes to clear and for Asian refiners to issue fresh buy tenders to help them gauge demand ahead of the next trading cycle.

• Angolan Agogo was offered at dated Brent minus $2.00 and Congolese Djeno at dated Brent minus $4.00. A June Angolan Hungo cargo was offered at dated Brent minus $4.00, a trader said. No deals were reported on Wednesday.

• On Monday, Angolan Dalia was offered for July at dated Brent minus $1.30 a barrel and Saturno was indicated at dated Brent minus $2.00, a trader said.

• More prompt-loading cargoes were under some pressure to clear and were trading below offer levels, the trader added, though freight rates have come off slightly, which could help economics for West African crude trade to other regions.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)

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LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were steady on Tuesday after some initial Angolan July cargo offers surfaced at the start of the week, as traders await a fresh round of Asian purchase tenders.

• July trade has been largely muted so far as overhanging West African and Libyan cargoes from June continue to clear, one trader said.

• On Monday, Angolan Dalia was offered for July at dated Brent minus $1.30 a barrel and Saturno was indicated at dated Brent minus $2.00, a trader said.

• Traders are waiting for a fresh round of buy tenders from Asian refiners to gauge demand levels for the July trading cycle, the trader said on Tuesday.

• West African crude differentials have dropped sharply in recent weeks, weighed down by poor demand especially in Asia, even though the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, cutting off around 14 million bpd of oil supply from the Middle East.

• Nigeria's giant Dangote oil refinery on Tuesday reiterated its plans to double production capacity by the end of 2028 in a "ruthless replication" project.

• The company could then jump to 2.1 million bpd with a similar refinery project in East Africa, making it a dominant or significant player in crude and refined fuel markets, chief executive David Bird said.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

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May 31 (Reuters) - India's largest state-run refiner and fuel retailer, Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS, has raised the price of a 19 kilogram commercial LPG cylinder for industrial clients by 42 rupees ($0.4421) to 3,113.50 rupees from 3,071.5 rupees, according to its website.

Indian state fuel retailers IOC, Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS tend to fix retail prices of fuels in tandem.

($1 = 95.0000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham)

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NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, May 29 (Reuters) - State refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) IOC.NS bought 5 million barrels of crude oil from West Africa and Middle East via a tender this week, trade sources said on Friday.

IOC purchased Angola's Kissanje and Nemba crude for delivery to its Paradip refinery, the sources said.

The company also bought Nigeria's Usan crude from ExxonMobil XOM.N and Abu Dhabi's Murban crude from Mercuria for delivery to Vadinar.

IOC also purchased Murban crude from Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, for delivery to Chennai, the people said.

The West African cargoes traded at premiums of around $4 a barrel to dated Brent, while Murban cargoes were sold at flat to a slight premium to dated Brent, they added.

The companies typically do not comment on their commercial sales.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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Adds destails on new oil and LNG shipments

By Ruth Chai and Florence Tan

May 28 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28 has severely curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Below are non-Iranian oil and LNG tankers that have passed through the strait since the war, based on shipping data from LSEG and Kpler.

Oil

LNG

* tentative discharge dates

(Reporting by Ruth Chai and Florence Tan; additional reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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Adds details and background from paragraph 3

May 23 (Reuters) - Indian state-owned fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices for the third time this month, dealers said on Saturday, as the companies look to recoup losses caused by elevated crude oil prices amid the Iran war.

Petrol in New Delhi will cost 0.87 rupees (just under 1 U.S. cent) more at 99.51 rupees a litre, while diesel prices will be raised 0.91 rupees to 92.49 rupees per litre, dealers said.

India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, was one of the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran triggered a surge in prices globally.

The price of fuel has become roughly 5 rupees more expensive over the three price increases. The fuel price rise announced on May 15 was India's first in four years.

The companies are raising pump prices in a staggered manner, similar to the way they did in April 2022, when they increased retail prices after elections in some key states, including northern Uttar Pradesh.

Opposition parties have said the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had postponed the current price increases to try to win votes in recent state elections.

Still, sources at refiners have said more price increases are needed to recoup the losses.

Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS (BPCL) continues to incur a revenue loss of 25 to 30 rupees per litre on diesel and 10 to 14 rupees per litre on petrol despite the higher prices, the refiner's chairman said earlier this week.

India's oil ministry has said the government has no plans to provide financial support for refiners.

BPCL, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS together control more than 90% of a network of 103,000 fuel stations and tend to set prices in tandem.

($1 = 95.6900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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May 19 (Reuters) - India hiked petrol and diesel prices by around 0.9 rupees ($0.0093) per litre on Tuesday, local media reported, in what would be the country's second fuel price hike in a week.

The price of petrol was hiked to 98.64 rupees a litre from 97.77 rupees in Delhi while diesel was increased to 91.58 rupees a litre from 90.67 rupees, media reported.

Last Friday, India raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by 3 rupees per litre to recoup some of the losses incurred due to higher global crude oil prices.

($1 = 96.3450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Mexico City)

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LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials to dated brent were steady on Monday as traders digested a July loading programme for Angolan grades.

• Angola will load a total of 29 cargoes of crude oil in July, a trade source said citing a preliminary loading programme.

• About 12 of Angola's 35 June cargoes were still looking for buyers on Friday, a trader said at the end of last week.

• West African crude differentials have dropped sharply from record highs in the last couple of weeks, weighed down by narrower refining margins, refinery run cuts and China - normally a major buyer - selling cargoes, traders said.

• Fuel marketers in Nigeria have pushed back against a lawsuit by Dangote Petroleum Refinery seeking to invalidate import licences, warning the move could disrupt supply and competition in Africa’s largest oil market.

• The jury in the bribery trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former oil minister, began their deliberations on Monday after nearly four months at London's Southwark Crown Court.

• In East Africa news, South Sudan must not enter into any new oil prepayment contracts until it has cleared outstanding debts with commodity trading house BB Energy, London's high court ruled on Friday, pending another hearing on June 5.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)

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May 15 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corporation Ltd IOC.NS:

• INDIAN OIL CORP: CO HAS LAUNCHED HYDROGEN-POWERED SHUTTLE BUS SERVICES IN DELHI'S CENTRAL VISTA AREA

Further company coverage: IOC.NS

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LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were little changed on Thursday, while an overhang remained in the market.

• West African crude differentials have fallen due to a lack of demand and ongoing Chinese crude reselling, a trader said recently, offsetting healthy refinery profit margins.

• Offers for Angolan crude were largely between plus $1 and flat against dated Brent, a trader said this week, a drop from record highs reached in the aftermath of the Iran war.

• Around 14 Angolan June crude cargoes were still unsold, a trader confirmed.

• July loading programmes are also set to emerge in the coming days.

• In the wider market, Angola aims to hold its oil output steady over the next year, its oil and minerals minister said at a conference in London.

• The Cabinda refinery in Angola is working at 30,000 bpd and another 30,000 bpd of capacity at the plant will be added later, the minister said, without specifying when. Construction of the Lobito refinery is about half complete and expected to be finished by 2029.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were little changed on Wednesday though traders continued to view a weak market pressured by low demand for cargoes.

• In the region of 14 Angolan June crude cargoes remain unsold, one trader said on Wednesday, with July loading programmes set to emerge in the coming days.

• West African crude differentials are trending lower due to a lack of demand and ongoing Chinese crude reselling, a trader said recently, offsetting healthy refinery profit margins.

• Offers for Angolan crude were largely between plus $1 and flat against dated Brent, a trader said this week, a drop from record highs reached in the aftermath of the Iran war.

• Nigeria, which is Africa's biggest oil producer, has asked to join the International Energy Agency as an associate member, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

• Nigeria's petrol consumption rose in April, while domestic refining surged to near full capacity, led by strong output from the Dangote refinery, data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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Adds details on price increase from government officials

By Neha Arora and Nikunj Ohri

NEW DELHI, May 12 (Reuters) - India will at some stage need to assess how long state-run fuel retailers can sustain losses from selling transport fuels below market prices, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at an industry event on Tuesday.

Petrol and diesel spot prices have surged to multi-year highs globally as the Middle East conflict disrupted supply, but governments in several major economies have held down pump prices to shield consumers from inflation.

A joint secretary in the oil ministry, Sujata Sharma, had earlier said that India had no plans to ​compensate oil marketing companies for these losses.

Fuel retailers are incurring losses of about 100 rupees ($1.06) per litre on diesel and 20 rupees per litre on petrol, Sharma said last month.

India is the world's third-largest oil importer and ​consumer, meeting more than 90% of its crude oil needs and about half of ⁠its natural gas demand through imports.

Indian state fuel retailers, including Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS, which account for most of the fuel sales in the country, have not raised gasoline and diesel ​prices since April 2022.

A senior government official separately told Reuters that compensating oil marketing companies while keeping fuel prices unchanged is not fiscally sustainable.

Another official said any price increase would be substantial enough to discourage spending on petrol and diesel, but not so large as to sharply stoke inflation.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Oil minister Puri also said India has crude and liquefied natural gas sufficient for 60 days, and liquefied petroleum gas for 45 days.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged on Sunday a spate of measures including fuel conservation, work-from-home practices and limits on travel and imports to ease pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.

The country's balance of payments is expected to worsen sharply during the current 2026-27 fiscal year, with the deficit projected at about $66 billion to $70 billion, up from an estimated $26 billion to $28 billion in 2025-26.

(Reporting by Neha Arora; Writing by Mohi Narayan; Editing by YP Rajesh and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - West African crude held steady on Monday and the trading arm of Nigeria's national oil company issued a sell tender for a spot cargo.

• The Nigerian National Petroleum Company's trading arm issued a tender on a spot cargo of Forcados for June 13-14 loading, according to a document seen by Reuters.

• Offers for Angolan crude were largely between plus $1 and flat against dated Brent, one trader said.

• IOC awarded its buying tender last week and is taking one cargo of Nigerian crude, one Angolan and some Murban crude from the UAE, a trader said.

• In the broader market, airlines contending with soaring jet fuel prices are facing a second blow as supply shortages disrupt flight schedules and crew rotations, industry groups and airlines said, heightening safety and operational concerns across Nigeria’s aviation sector.

• Nigeria is expected to have produced 1.55 million barrels per day of crude oil in April as part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a Reuters survey showed.
  
  

(Reporting by Seher Dareen
Editing by David Goodman)

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LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were steady on Friday after declining this week, while Indian Oil Corp was heard to have bought several cargoes in its latest tender.

• There were no further offers of Angolan crude via the Platts system on Friday, a trader said. There was a lower offer for one grade on Thursday, and on Wednesday Angolan grade Dalia was offered lower.

• The drop comes despite ongoing supply disruptions in the Middle East due to the Iran war.

• "Angolan is under pressure," a trader said.

• In other developments, IOC awarded its buying tender this week and is taking one cargo of Nigerian crude, one of Angolan and some Murban crude from the UAE, a trader said.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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