No direction from govt to buy or stop Russian oil intake: HPCL

Amid higher US tariffs on India because of Russian oil, centre-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. said that there is no direction from the government to buy or stop Russian oil intake.

This comes after market speculations about state-owned oil refiners pulling back from purchases of Russian crude oil.

However, chairman Vikas Kaushal said that the company is scouting for alternative crudes to protect itself if it were to stop buying Russian oil due to higher prices and sanctions.


The chairman said that while there was no official directive from the government regarding the purchase of Russian oil, HPCL's Russian oil intake in the June quarter fell to 13.2% due to narrowing discounts.

"It's not because of any geopolitical reason. It was an economic decision based on what we needed to run in our refineries," he added.

HPCL remains open to buying Russian oil if it becomes competitively priced again, he said, adding the company would be able to absorb the financial loss for not processing Russian oil as it has already cut its Russian oil processing.

US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25% duty on imports from India due to its oi business with Russia after an earlier announced 25% tariff.

There are major speculations about companies including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. planning to skip spot purchases of the crude in the upcoming buying cycle, until there’s clear government guidance.

Trump's recent tariff announcements have created wide-ranging uncertainties in the Indian oil market.

Also read: Indian Oil, BPCL said to buy 22 million barrels of non-Russian crude for Sept-Oct delivery

Bloomberg reported that Indian Oil bought five million barrels of oil from the US, Brazil and Libya on Thursday, the latest in a string of purchases for relatively quick delivery.

Officially, New Delhi hasn’t given any direction to refiners to stop buying Moscow’s crude, with Indian government pushing back against Trump’s tariffs.

Bloomberg earlier reported that refiners had been asked to draw up plans for buying non-Russian crude.

Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp have bought at least 22 million barrels of non-Russian crude for delivery in September and October, as reported by Reuters on Friday, citing trade sources.

The report said that Indian oil refiners had been largely absent from the spot market since 2022, instead becoming one of the few purchasers of cheaper Russian crude after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The companies paused Russian purchases in late July after pressure from Trump.

Also read: India’s state refiners buy oil elsewhere after Russia pause as US adds pressure

Reuters' sources said that IOC bought 2 million barrels of U.S. Mars crude, 2 million barrels of Brazilian grades and another 1 million barrels of Libyan crude. Meanwhile, BPCL bought 9 million barrels of oil through negotiations for September arrival.