No bids made in Indian Oil tender for ships to carry Gulf cargoes, say sources

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp 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.