MRPL

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were stable on Thursday as traders digested October Angolan loading programmes.

• Angolan crude exports are scheduled at 932,000 barrels per day in October across 30 cargoes, a preliminary loading programme seen by Reuters showed, down from 1.04 million bpd across 34 cargoes scheduled for September.

• Around eight Angolan cargoes remain unsold for September after Asian refiners picked up cargoes recently, a trader said on Thursday.

• Meanwhile, around 25 Nigerian September cargoes were heard to be available last week, a source said, with ample still available this week.

• Asian demand for West African crudes has been supported by Middle East disruptions, however high freight rates could provide a ceiling to flows.

• Nigeria allocated seven crude cargoes in September for the Dangote oil refinery, according to data seen by Reuters.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Diti Pujara)

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LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The West African crude oil market was quiet on Wednesday as traders awaited loading programs and watched a volatile oil market.

• Brent crude futures rose over 1% while U.S. WTI prices jumped over 2% after the United Arab Emirates decided to suspend all financial and economic transactions with Iran. O/R

• Increased availability of Middle East and Latin American grades was still partially weighing on the West African market as all grades compete among Asian refiners, but demand had improved for the grades, traders have told Reuters.

• Meanwhile, Nigeria's Dangote Refinery's crude imports were coming in at around 640,000 month-to-date in August, recovering from the slightly lower June-July period, analysts at Kpler said in a note.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were steady on Tuesday.

• Increased availability of Middle East and Latin American grades was weighing on the West African market as all grades compete among Asian refiners.

• Argentine crude exports reached a record high of 285,000 barrels per day in July, Kpler analysts said in a note. This weighed on the West Africa market, two traders said.

• In the previous session, Nigerian Bonny was offered at dated Brent plus $4.10 for September loading via the Argus Open Markets platform, a trade source said, edging down from the plus $6 reported last week.

• Nigeria's Dangote Refinery has secured a $1 billion underwriting programme for its planned stock market listing.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen
Editing by David Goodman
)

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LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were broadly steady in the spot market on Friday.

• The market for West African grades has been mostly quiet this week, sources told Reuters.

• Brent and WTI were on track for weekly gains of about 3.4% and 4%, respectively, while the U.S. threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, raising concerns about disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East.

• Market participants have been buying West African crude as alternatives to Middle East grades due to the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz.

• In the wider market, Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery's planned October IPO is designed to let Nigerians share in the company's growth, its CEO told Reuters, adding that a foreign listing is at least three years away.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Diti Pujara)

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Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals appointed Lakhan Chandra Mardi, Sharwan Singh Karawasra and Vipin Malviya as independent directors. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said the competent authority had approved their appointments for three years from 12 August 2026, or until further orders, whichever came earlier. The appointments followed the end of the previous independent directors’ tenure in March 2026, after which the board had lacked independent directors. MRPL reported revenue of ₹41,609 crore and standalone net profit of ₹946 crore for the June quarter.

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LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The West African crude oil market was quiet on Wednesday, a trader said, as participants monitored a tender issued by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL).

• India's state-run refiner MRPL issued a tender, a trade source said, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp bought Persian Gulf cargoes.

• The market was otherwise quiet, he added.

• In the wider West African market, Nigeria is considering changes to crude allocation and pricing rules to improve feedstock access for its refiners, including Dangote Refinery, the local oil refiners' association said.

• Nigeria approved tax waivers for nearly 4,000 electric vehicles in the first half of this year, government data showed. While official data is not available, EVs now likely account for less than 1% of the total vehicle fleet, dealers say, equivalent to only a few tens of thousands of vehicles.

• Nigerian President Bola Tinubu approved a new regulatory and fiscal framework for offshore oil and gas projects, to attract up to $50 billion in investment.

• Additionally, Russia has begun shipping crude oil via its Arctic sea route this year at a faster pace than a year ago, with seven cargoes carrying some six million barrels of crude already heading to Asia, according to three trade sources and LSEG shipping data.

• Russian crude is bought by India and China, keys markets for West African crudes.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Diti Pujara)

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By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS will reserve half of its planned 1.75 million metric ton (about 13 million barrels)oil storage facility to meet the country's strategic needs, junior oil minister Suresh Gopi told lawmakers on Monday.

ONGC, India's top oil explorer, last month announced plans to build the strategic petroleum reserve at Mangaluru in Karnataka state, where its Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS subsidiary operates a refinery with capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

New Delhi is expanding its Strategic Petroleum Reserve capacity with private participation.

Indian rules allow commercial use of a part of the existing SPR storage built at three locations - Mangaluru, Padur and Vizag - in southern India with 5.33 million tons of capacity. These storage facilities are managed by the government-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL).

MRPL has already leased half of the 1.5 million ton Mangaluru SPR.

Gopi also said India has the capacity to store crude oil and petroleum products to meet 74 days of its net crude import needs, including inventories in refinery tanks, offshore facilities and its 35,000 km (22,000 miles) pipeline network.

India plans to build about 4 million tons of strategic storage at Chandikhol in the eastern state of Odisha and a new 2.5 million ton facility at Padur in southern India in collaboration with private companies.

Gopi said ISPRL has acquired the land for the Chandikhol project, which is estimated to cost 90 billion Indian rupees ($944.44 million).

($1 = 95.2950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Susan Fenton)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 30 (Reuters) - Two tankers carrying Saudi crude for Indian refiners have exited the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by sailing "dark" after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The Suezmax tanker Amazon, chartered by Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, loaded 1 million barrels of oil and Aframax Rodos lifted 700,000 barrels of crude for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port around July 20 and briefly turned north towards the Suez Canal.

However, the Amazon and Rodos then switched off their Automatic Identification System transponders around July 22, preventing public tracking of their moves, and headed south to exit the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the sources said.

The tankers are the first evidence of vessels carrying Saudi crude for India going dark by turning off their transponders, which the sources said is normal practice in war zone areas, since the blockade began.

"The owner had shut the transponders on the vessels for safety purposes, and the vessels are now heading to India," one of the sources told Reuters.

The Rodos is expected to arrive at India's Mangalore port on August 1, while the Amazon is scheduled to reach Chennai in early August, both sources said.

Both vessels are managed by Greece-based Dynacom Tankers. Dynacom had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.

India's foreign ministry, Indian Oil and MRPL did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The vessels switched off their transponders after two other Dynacom ships, Malta-flagged Panamax-sized tanker Kavomaleas and Liberian-flagged VLCC Acheloos, were hit by projectiles.

Indian refiners have switched to cargoes from the Middle East on a delivered basis since the Houthi attacks on several Saudi tankers. MRPL said in its latest tender it will only buy oil shipped on routes avoiding the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz.

It was not immediately clear if the Indian government talked to the Houthis or Iranian authorities to gain safe passage for the vessels after refiners in India approached it for help.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Additional reporting by Aftab Ahmed and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Florence Tan and Alexander Smith)

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July 28 (Reuters) - India's ONGC ONGC.NS said on Tuesday it approved a parent company guarantee of $500 million in favour of Saudi Aramco 2223.SE to enable its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) MRPL.NS to import crude oil over the next two years.

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandini-monnappa-8a37b013b/;))

** Shares of MRPL MRPL.NS drop 4.3% to 162.40 rupees

** State-run refiner is seeking to import oil via a spot tender and has, for the first time, asked suppliers to avoid using the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, tender document seen by Reuters shows

** MRPL did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment

** Co has taken a "precautionary view" as it wants to avoid a potential supply disruption along two of the world's key maritime oil trade routes, report adds, citing a source

** MRPL is also sensitive to crude price hikes caused by blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as higher oil could weigh on margins

** YTD, stock up 7%

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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SINGAPORE, July 21 (Reuters) - Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks jumped on Tuesday to their highest in about six weeks, with Dubai and Murban rising close to $3 a barrel after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.

YANBU

A successful effort by Yemen's Houthis to shut the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would strike at one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, potentially triggering a fresh surge in crude prices, disrupting fuel supplies and adding to strains on the global economy, analysts said.

Saudi Arabia has shipped on average over 4.5 million bpd of crude and fuel from Yanbu since April, about 70% of which went to Asia, Kpler data shows.

Asian refiners receiving those barrels could face delays of around a month as tankers are forced to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.

Energy Aspects estimated that more than 3 million barrels per day of Saudi crude currently shipped via the Red Sea to Asia could be forced onto much longer routes.

The disruption would create logistical bottlenecks because fully loaded VLCCs cannot transit the Suez Canal while capacity on Egypt's SUMED pipeline, which links the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, is fixed.

IRAQ

Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS has cancelled the lifting of Iraqi oil from Basrah Oil Terminal due to increased risk and attacks on some vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, three sources familiar with the matter said.

State-run IOC was preparing to lift 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil in the very large crude carrier Lila Jamnagar around July ​23.

Another state refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS, also cancelled plans to lift oil from Iraq in the Indian-flagged Aframax tanker Desh Gaurav, they said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose $2.26 to $3.00 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

TENDERS

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co sold less crude to Asian refiners in its latest tender than earlier ones due to uncertainty over shipping via the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S.-Iran war escalated, trade sources said.

Buyers in the latest tender included Taiwanese refiner CPC and South Korea's GS Caltex, they said.

CPC likely bought about 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude at a discount of about $4 a barrel to Dubai quotes for ship-to-ship transfer off the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates or Oman's Sohar port, the sources said.

GS Caltex purchased 2 million barrels of Das crude, but the price was not immediately known, they added.

ADNOC may have also sold some crude to an Indian refiner, traders said, but details were unclear.

The tender was the sixth the UAE producer has issued since June. ADNOC had offered Upper Zakum, Umm Lulu and Das crude to buyers for August-September loading, according to the document.

However, oil transfers between tankers in waters outside the Strait of Hormuz have slowed following a wave of recent attacks on vessels by Iranian forces.

NEWS

Greek shipping company Dynacom Tankers said two of its managed vessels were hit by projectiles of unknown origin on Monday while sailing off the coast of Oman.

Goldman Sachs said on Monday that Brent crude could top $120 a barrel in the fourth quarter this year and average $100 a barrel next year if flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted and Gulf output only fully recovers by the end of 2027.

Vessel crossings via the Strait of Hormuz dropped further at the start of the week, shipping data showed, as caution grew following a fresh exchange of attacks between the United States and Iran. A total of four commodity vessels crossed the strait on Monday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from seven the previous day, Kpler data showed.

Chevron CVX.N is shutting-in production at its Petronius facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and all associated personnel are being moved onshore in preparation for Tropical Depression Two, the company said in a statement on Monday.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.

(Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Louise Heavens and Ronojoy Mazumdar)

(([email protected];))

RECENT CRUDE OIL TRADES:
Asia ACRU/T  Europe CRU/T Americas CRU/TU
      
CRUDE OIL MARKET NEWS      
Crude oil tenders in Asia                       CRU/TENDA
Crude oil supply outages in Asia                CRU/OUT-ASIA-O      
Refinery outages in Asia                        REF/OUT-ASIA-O      
Global arbitrage news and flows                 O/CRUDEARB      
W.African crude imports to Asia,  monthly       O/WAFRICA1      
REFINERY MAINTENANCE DIARIES      
Asia REF/A   Middle East REF/ME   Europe REF/E      
                       
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Japan     METI/JP1   China   O/CHINA1      
India     O/INDIA2   S.Korea O/KOREA1      
Indonesia O/INDO1-CRU         
                       
CRUDE OIL INVENTORY DATA      
Japan O/JAPAN1  US EIA/S  Europe O/EUROIL1      
                    
CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION/OILFIELD NEWS      
OPEC output survey OPEC/O          New Africa fields    AFR/NEW 
New projects       ENERGY/NEW      New Americas  fields AM/NEW
CRUDE OIL MARKET REPORTS      
Middle East             CRU/MAsia-Pacific         CRU/AP      
West Africa             CRU/WAF  North Sea            CRU/E      
Asia outlook            ASIA/CRU Europe outlook       EUR/CRU      
Global futures report   O/R      Technicals report    O/I      
                            
PRICES      
For all Official Selling  Prices       OSP/O      
For a POLL on oil  prices              O/POLL      
NYMEX and ICE oil  futures             OILOIL      
TOCOM crude oil  futures               0#JCO:      
Dubai, Oman swaps and  spread          ASIA/SWAP/CRUDE      
Middle East physical crude diffs       CRUDE/ASIA2      
Australia physical crude, Tapis swaps  CRUDE/ASIA1      
Asia-Pacific physical crude            CRUDE/ASIA3      
All Asian crude oil  differentials     0#C-DIF-A
All Asian crude oil outright  prices   0#C-A

** Shares of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS up 12.6% at 177.29 rupees, highest since April 28

** Co posts Q1 consol net profit of 9.46 billion rupees vs loss a year ago; rev from ops nearly doubles to 416.09 billion rupees

** Profit was supported by an exceptional gain of 4.71 billion rupees pertaining to revision in petroleum product prices

** More than 78.7 million shares change hands vs 30-day avg of 8.5 million shares

** YTD, stock up 16.5%

(Reporting by Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

By Krishna N. Das and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 15 (Reuters) - Top Russian energy companies have approached Indian refiners for more gasoline after Ukrainian strikes knocked out a significant portion of Russia's refining capacity, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

India is the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil, making Moscow's bid to secure Indian gasoline an unusual reversal in the countries' energy trade relationship, highlighting the extent of the disruption caused by the Ukrainian attacks. Moscow is witnessing its worst gasoline crisis.

At least one cargo of Indian gasoline has already sailed to Russia and more are expected, with nearly 40% of Russia's refining capacity unlikely to return for at least two months if there are no further attacks, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Rosneft ROSN.MM, Gazprom Neft and Lukoil LKOH.MM are among the companies that have contacted Indian counterparts, including private and state-run refiners, the source said, adding that any supplies would be routed through traders if deals are agreed.

Sources at three Indian state refiners said Russian companies had approached them for more gasoline but that they have no surplus volumes to export. They and the other two sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Major Indian state refiners including Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum CorpHPCL.NS, the three Russian oil companies, and Russia's energy ministry did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month that Indian companies were not selling fuel to Russia but it was possible that Russia purchased Indian-origin fuel from traders.

SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERS

One of the sources familiar with the matter said any further supplies from India could reach Russia through ship-to-ship transfers. Russia would seek supplies of diesel if Ukrainian attacks knocked out further refining capacity, though there were enough supplies of the fuel for now, the source added.

Reuters reported early this month that traders have sold gasoline produced by Indian refiner Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft, to Russia.

Tanker Agni loaded with 42,000 metric tons of gasoline from Nayara's Vadinar port between June 18 and 20 and did a ship-to-ship transfer of the cargo onto the vessel Garnet at Damietta Light near Egypt, between July 6 and 7, Kpler said in a note citing satellite imagery. Garnet is expected to reach Vitino in Russia around July 26, the ship tracking agency said.

Shipping sources said another tanker, Varg, loaded with gasoline from Nayara's Vadinar port, was bound for Suez, where the cargo is expected to be transferred to another vessel off Egypt for onward shipment to Russia.

Nayara told Reuters it "has neither sold nor has any plans to sell fuel to Russian companies".

"Nayara Energy remains committed to serving the Indian market and meeting the demand for fuels across the length and breadth of India," it said in response to questions from Reuters.

"As the country’s largest private sector fuel retailer, our only priority is to ensure optimum supplies to over 7,000 stations and other channels including bulk customers."

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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Adds India's oil demand in paragraph 8

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 10 (Reuters) - India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS will build a 1.75 million metric ton (about 13 million barrels), strategic petroleum reserve in Mangalore in southern India, the company said in a stock exchange filing late on Thursday.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, was hit hard by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war. About a fifth of the world's energy supplies pass through the waterway.

India is enhancing its energy cooperation with countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Japan, to strengthen its emergency stockpile.

ONGC, India's top oil exploration company, would seek the federal government's permission for commercial use of the storage to be built in the "national interest", it said in the filing.

New Delhi already allows commercial use of a part of its strategic storage built at three locations - Mangalore, Padur and Vizag - in southern India to store up to 5.33 MT of crude.

These storage facilities are managed by the government-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd.

ONGC has not specified the cost and time for completion of the new SPR facility at Mangalore.

India's current strategic stockpiles are a fraction of its 5.2 million barrels per day refining capacity.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS, a subsidiary of ONGC, operates a 300,000 bpd refinery in Mangalore. It has already leased half of the 1.5 MT Mangalore SPR, while the remaining capacity is leased to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. of the United Arab Emirates.

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE earlier this year, ADNOC announced plans to increase crude oil storage in India to up to 30 million barrels.

ADNOC also announced that the UAE would explore potential crude storage at Fujairah as part of India's strategic reserve.

India also plans to build about 4 MT of strategic storage at Chandikhol in the eastern state of Odisha and a new 2.5 MT facility at Padur in southern India.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Susan Fenton)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 8 (Reuters) - India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS has cancelled a vessel charter it had booked for loading crude oil from Iraq, two shipping sources with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the people said MRPL has cited "technical reasons" for not going ahead with the chartering of the Aframax tanker Jasmin Joy.

It was not clear whether the chartering failed due to heightened tension in the Strait of Hormuz, the sources said, after attacks on some ships in the key waterway prompted maritime authorities to raise the threat risk for transiting vessels to "severe".

MRPL is scouting for a replacement vessel, they said.

MRPL did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comments.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

By Nidhi Verma and Florence Tan

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) - Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS has chartered a vessel to load crude oil from Iraq, the first Indian state-owned refiner to do so since the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, three shipping sources said.

MRPL has booked the Aframax tanker Jasmin Joy to load crude from Iraq's Basrah oil terminal on July 19-20, the sources said.

Indian state refiners have been struggling to secure ships to load crude from ports on the west of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies transited before the Israel-Iran conflict disrupted shipping in the region.

MRPL, which operates a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Florence Tan; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

May 19 (Reuters) - Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS:

• MANGALORE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALS - PNGRB GRANTS AUTHORIZATION FOR PETROLEUM PIPELINE AT KEMPEGOWDA AIRPORT BENGALURU

Source text: ID:nBSE3nj5HQ

Further company coverage: MRPL.NS

(([email protected];))

May 14 (Reuters) - Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS:

• MANGALORE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALS - CESTAT ALLOWED APPEAL WITH RELIEF FROM CUSTOMS DUTY DEMAND

• MANGALORE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALS LTD - ELIGIBLE FOR REFUND OF 2.13 BILLION RUPEES CUSTOMS DUTY

Source text: ID:nBSE3X7Wgp

Further company coverage: MRPL.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Oil refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals' MRPL.NS shares fall as much as 7.56% to 172.29 rupees apiece, their steepest intraday decline in six weeks

** Drop after MRPL posts 68.5% year-on-year drop in consolidated net profit in March quarter to 1.17 billion rupees

** PL Capital downgrades MRPL to "sell" from "accumulate" and lowers price target to 143 rupees from 192 rupees earlier, after the results

** Says downgrade reflects increase in MRPL's debt, while weak Q4 performance is driven by higher employee costs and forex loss of 6.1 billion rupees

** MRPL shares are up 14% in 2026, according to exchange data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

** Shares of India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS fall 2.8% to near one-week low of 1,313 rupees

** India raises export duties on diesel, aviation turbine fuel

** Refiners MRPL MRPL.NS and Chennai Petroleum CHPC.NS fall 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively

** Nomura says MRPL, Nayara, CPCL, HPCL Mittal Energy, Numaligarh and domestic refineries of RELI will be subject to windfall tax on export of diesel and air turbine fuel

** Adds that RELI's export refinery, which accounts for almost half its refining capacity, not impacted

** RELI rated "buy" on average by 32 brokerages, median PT is 1,700 rupees, per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, RELI stock down 16.4%

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru)

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April 9 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• INDIAN FUEL RETAILERS ARE BUYING DIESEL AT DISCOUNTED RATES FROM REFINERS - INDUSTRY SOURCE

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

(([email protected];))

March 31 (Reuters) - Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS:

• MRPL - GETS TAX ORDER FOR DEMAND 109.7 MILLION RUPEES, PENALTY 127.9 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE1sLg6N

Further company coverage: MRPL.NS

(([email protected];;))

By Mohi Narayan and Ahmad Ghaddar

NEW DELHI/LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - European and U.S. gasoline cargoes are heading to the Asia Pacific after Asian prices surged on tightening supply due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, according to trade sources and shipping data.

The war has disrupted crude and oil product shipments from the Middle East to Asia, causing Asian refineries to cut output and forcing fuel distributors to seek supply from as far as the United States and buy more Russian fuel.

The extra shipping costs will exacerbate already soaring fuel prices for consumers and businesses.

At least three gasoline cargoes totalling about 1.6 million barrels have loaded last week from Europe for Asia, according to traders and ship tracking data from Kpler, as companies including Vitol and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA ship the fuel to the East to cash in on better margins in Asia.

Vitol and TotalEnergies declined to comment.

Earlier, Exxon Mobil XOM.N booked U.S. gasoline cargoes for Australia.

Europe typically only sends small parcels of gasoline to the East of Suez markets, while its key markets are the U.S., Latin America and West Africa.

Asian refiners' profits from making a barrel of gasoline GL92-SIN-CRK from Brent crude are hovering near 2022 highs of about $37 a barrel over Brent crude last week versus $8 before the war.

"One key factor is refinery behaviour under crude supply uncertainty. As disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz increase feedstock risk, some refiners are becoming more cautious about run rates or export commitments," Nithin Prakash, analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy, said.

Even if inventories currently appear comfortable, lower refining throughput could tighten the supply outlook and support gasoline margins, he said.

Singapore inventories of light distillates, which include gasoline and naphtha, are about 6% higher than the same time last year, at 17.93 million barrels, LSEG data showed. STKLD-SIN

REGIONAL SUPPLY FALLS

Gasoline supply from within the region is falling as shipments from top fuel exporter South Korea are expected to drop to between 5 million and 6 million barrels in March from a three-month average of about 10 million barrels, preliminary Kpler and LSEG data showed.

China, another big supplier, has banned fuel exports to shore up its domestic market. Thailand and Vietnam have also restricted fuel exports.

Traders are now pinning their hopes on Asia's second largest fuel exporter, India, which typically sends about 40% of its monthly shipments of between 7 million and 8 million barrels to the Middle East, to pivot to the East.

India typically sends about 22% of its gasoline to Asia, LSEG data showed. However, the country's gasoline exports have plummeted to about 5 million to 6 million barrels in March from around 12 million barrels last month, preliminary LSEG and Kpler data showed, as state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS has temporarily suspended cargo loadings.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi, Ahmad Ghaddar and Enes Tunagur in London, and Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; https://twitter.com/_mohi_;))

Adds Sinochem

By Ruth Chai

March 21 (Reuters) - A growing number of refineries and petrochemical companies, mostly in Asia, have cut runs, shut units or declared force majeure as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupts crude and feedstock exports from the Middle East.

Asian steam crackers, which source more than 60% of their naphtha feedstock from the Middle East, have been quick to declare force majeure on petrochemical supplies to customers.

It takes up to two weeks to restart a steam cracker unit, two operators said, and plants typically don't keep more than one month of feedstock on hand.

Here are some of the latest developments:

CHINA

* State-owned Sinochem has cut crude throughput at its only refinery in southeast China's Quanzhou to around 60%, with some saying it is seeking prompt crude deliveries to cover a supply gap in Middle Eastern oil.

The refiner also reduced operations at its one million-ton-per-year steam cracker to approximately 60%.

* Sinopec, the world's biggest refiner by capacity, is also seeking to cut throughput this month by more than 10% from an original plan in response to a supply gap caused by the war in the Middle East, according to sources familiar with its operations.

Throughput is likely to fall by 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average in March, the two sources estimated, adding that the cuts excluded losses from plant maintenance that was planned before the war began on February 28.

* China's Wanhua Chemical 600309.SS has declared force majeure to its Middle East customers, a company representative said.

Its two crackers, with a total ethylene production capacity of 2.2 million metric tons per year, are still running at high rates for now, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The company declined to comment on whether production at the two crackers was cut.

* Shell's SHEL.L south China petrochemical joint venture with China's CNOOC plans to shut a steam cracker soon and told domestic customers it is unable to supply some products, two sources told Reuters.

CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co Ltd, or CSPC, plans to close a 1.2-million-ton-per-year (tpy) cracker in Huizhou, one of its two crackers with a total capacity of 2.2 million tpy, due to disruptions in feedstock supplies, the sources said.

* Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp, a major Chinese refiner backed by Saudi Aramco 2222.SE, shut a 200,000-barrel-per-day unit, bringing forward maintenance in response to the Middle East conflict's impact on crude supply.

* Another Chinese refiner backed by Aramco, Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co, or FREP, shut its 80,000-bpd crude unit - its smallest - for an unspecified amount of time, two industry sources said.

* China has also urged refiners to suspend signing new contracts to export fuel, and to try to cancel shipments already committed, sources said.

JAPAN

Japanese refineries cut utilization rates to 69.1% in the week to March 14 from 77.6% a week earlier and from more than 80% before the start of the Middle East conflict, data from the Petroleum Association of Japan showed.

Japan's gasoline stocks fell nearly 10%, while jet fuel, kerosene and diesel stocks were down 3%, 12% and 1% respectively, PAJ data showed.

* Japan's Mitsui Chemicals 4183.T started to cut ethylene production in Osaka and Chiba due to a drop in naphtha supplies.

* Mitsubishi Chemical 4188.T on March 9 started to cut ethylene production at its plant in Ibaraki.

* Sumitomo Chemical Asia said it issued a force majeure notice this week for methyl methacrylate production after its feedstock supplier, Singapore petrochemical firm PCS, declared force majeure on shipments.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia's Pengerang Refining (Prefchem), a joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco 2222.SE, shut its 300,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude unit due to a lack of crude feedstock, sources said.

More than 70% of Prefchem's seaborne crude imports last year came via the Strait of Hormuz, according to Kpler ship-tracking data.

SINGAPORE

* Singapore Refining Co (SRC) has cut refinery runs at its 290,000-bpd Jurong Island site in Singapore to around 60% and is likely to maintain reduced runs until the end of the month, sources said.

SRC has cut or delayed March naphtha deliveries to at least two offtakers, sources said.

* Also on Jurong Island, a 592,000-bpd site owned by ExxonMobil XOM.N has cut crude runs to around 50% or lower from around 80% or more, sources said.

The refinery has sourced around 65% of its crude via the Strait of Hormuz this year, Kpler ship-tracking data showed.

* Earlier, Singapore petrochemical firm PCS declared force majeure on shipments, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters and sources.

* Singapore refiner and petrochemical major Aster Chemicals and Energy declared force majeure, a company spokesperson said.

Products covered by the force majeure include ethylene and propylene. Aster's steam cracker was running at around 50% on March 6, having restarted at the end of February, sources said.

TAIWAN

Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp has issued a force majeure notice on some of its petrochemical supplies, an FPCC spokesperson said.

The refiner's No.2 and No.3 crackers are still operating at around 70%, and the company will consider shutting one cracker if naphtha stock is insufficient.

BAHRAIN

Bapco Energies declared force majeure on its group operations, following a recent attack on its refinery complex, the company said.

THAILAND

Thai petrochemicals firm Rayong Olefins, a unit of Siam Cement Group, declared force majeure due to the Middle East conflict, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters.

INDIA

India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS has shut a crude unit and some secondary units at its 300,000-bpd refinery due to oil shortage, sources said.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korean petrochemical company Yeochun NCC has cut its output and declared force majeure on its supply as it is unable to receive naphtha feedstock due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, according to a source and a company letter reviewed by Reuters.

INDONESIA

Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri TPIA.JK has declared force majeure on all contracts as the Middle East conflict disrupted its raw material supply, it said in a statement.

VIETNAM

Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical asked the government to prioritize supplying domestically produced crude oil to its Dung Quat Refinery while limiting crude exports until at least the end of the third quarter this year to ensure national security, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Ruth Chai; Editing by Tony Munroe, Diti Pujara, Mark Potter, Andrei Khalip and Thomas Derpinghaus)

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Recasts with comments from oil ministry

By Nidhi Verma

March 19 (Reuters) - India, the world's fourth-largest refiner, will review its fuel exports if needed to ensure availability in the local markets, a government official said on Thursday, amid global disruption and soaring oil prices stemming from the Iran war.

"Domestic consumption is priority, and the government will review (the export plan)," Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the federal petroleum ministry told a news conference.

India has ordered oil and gas companies to share full details of exports, imports and inventories with a government agency, as the South Asian nation seeks to shield consumers from shortages.

India has designated the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell to compile the information and all companies must share information regardless of any confidentiality obligations.

India has been hit hard by the jump in crude prices and disruption in oil and gas supplies, but unlike China it has not moved to ban exports of refined fuels.

The data will help India in taking faster and "more targeted interventions such as imposing export restrictions or calibrating export flows to meet its own energy security", said Prashant Vashisth, vice president at Moody's affiliate ICRA.

He said India can use its excess refining capacity to prioritise fuel supply to friendly or strategically aligned countries after meeting its local demand.

"Nowadays buyers are willing to pay a higher price. The question is of availability, which is beginning to outweigh prices," Vashisth said.

Any move to curtail fuel exports by India will hit Reliance Industries RELI.NS, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, as other refiners have largely stopped exporting fuels.

All companies involved in the oil and gas supply chain including oil producers, importers, refiners, fuel and gas retailers, liquefied natural gas importers, pipeline operators, and petrochemical plants were ordered to provide PPAC with data.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, meets over 90% of its oil needs through purchases from overseas.

So far the federal government has said there are adequate crude supplies and refined fuel stocks to meet local demand.

However, the world's second-largest LPG importer is facing its worst cooking gas crisis in decades with shipments from the Strait of Hormuz almost halted due to the war.

India was sourcing more than 40% of its crude imports and 90% of its liquefied petroleum gas imports from the Middle East.

Indian refiners have bought millions of barrels of Russian oil floating on the high seas after Washington granted a sanctions waiver.

The country has invoked emergency powers ordering refiners to maximise production of LPG and cut sales to industry to avoid a shortage for its 333 million homes with LPG connections.

India last week asked consumers to avoid panic buying of LPG cylinders and shift to piped natural gas where possible.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Deepa Babington, Kevin Buckland, Alexandra Hudson)

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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)

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March 5 (Reuters) - Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS:

• CLARIFY THAT THE MRPL HAS NOT DECLARED ANY "FORCE MAJEURE"

Further company coverage: MRPL.NS

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Corrects refining capacity to 300,000 bpd from 500,000 bpd in paragraph 3

By Mohi Narayan and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 4 (Reuters) - India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals MRPL.NS declared force majeure on all upcoming gasoline export cargoes amid the Middle East conflict that has disrupted crude oil flows from the Gulf, two traders said on Wednesday.

The company had already awarded two to three cargoes via tenders for early March loading and is in discussion with buyers on settling those supplies, one of the traders said.

The state-run refiner, which operates a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the southern state of Karnataka, exports about 40% of its refined fuel output.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, a conduit for about a fifth of oil consumed globally, has virtually stopped after Iranian attacks on vessels in the wake of U.S. and Israeli strikes that interrupted energy trade flows.

MRPL did not immediately respond to a Reuters email request for comment. A source with the company, who sought anonymity, confirmed the force majeure.

Indian refiners fill about 40% of their crude needs through purchases from the Middle East, in addition to sourcing from spot markets and processing domestic oil.

India is scouting for alternative sources to importing crude, liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas, a government source said on Tuesday.

In January, MRPL said it was exploring purchases of Venezuelan oil after the refiner halted imports of Russian oil to comply with Western sanctions.

India's crude inventories are sufficient to meet demand for about 25 days. Refiners also hold a 25-day inventory of gasoil, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas, the government source added.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Tom Hogue, Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)

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Updates

** Shares of oil explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS and Oil India OILI.NS fall 1% and 5.1%, respectively, tracking fall in oil prices O/R

** Downstream firms like Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS, which benefit from lower oil prices, up 1.2% and 3.5%, respectively.

** President Donald Trump over the weekend said Iran was "seriously talking" with Washington, signalling de-escalation with OPEC member after military strike risks drove oil prices to multi-month highs

** UBS says India's decision in the federal budget to avoid raising excise duty on retail fuel removes key near-term overhang for oil marketing companies (OMC) and is supportive of marketing margins

** Brokerage flags higher power sector capex and incentives for clean energy, carbon capture and storage as positives for broader energy value chain

** Nifty Energy .NIFTYENR index down 0.1% on Monday vs 0.3% rise in benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

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SOUTH GOA, India, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Indian oil refiners are only being offered small volumes of Venezuelan crude as most supply is heading to the United States, four refining executives said on Tuesday, slowing the return of the South American supply to the world's third-largest importer.

Trading houses Trafigura and Vitol began marketing Venezuelan oil this month after an agreement between Caracas and Washington for the U.S. to control 50 million barrels following its capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro on January 3, with proceeds going to a U.S.-supervised fund.

Since then, Indian refiners - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd MRPL.NS have been looking to buy Venezuelan crude.

"Offers are not there. Traders are looking to meet their commitment to the U.S. market," one executive said, referring to Vitol and Trafigura. The executives declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media. Vitol and Trafigura did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indian refiners have also previously said that discounts on Venezuelan crude are not wide enough to make it attractive for them to purchase.

The trading firms have sold Venezuelan crude to U.S. and European refiners including Valero VLO.N, Phillips 66 PSX.N, Repsol REP.MC and Vitol's Saras refinery in Italy.

A Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS executive said it plans to tie up with another firm to buy Venezuelan oil as the quantity it needs is small at about 200,000 barrels.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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