By Nidhi Verma and Marianna Parraga
NEW DELHI/MEXICO (Reuters) – Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s top refiner, will increase crude purchases from Iraq by 11.5% in 2022 to 390,000 barrels per day (bpd), partly to make up for a shortfall from Mexico and a possible supply cut from Kuwait, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Iraq is the top supplier of oil to India and its market share there is set to rise as another refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp will also buy more crude from the Middle Eastern nation.
India is the world’s third biggest oil importer.
IOC has resorted to buying higher volumes from Iraq as Mexico is curbing supplies as it opens a new refinery, sources said.
Indian refiners also expect oil supplies from Kuwait could be cut in the next fiscal year starting in April as Kuwait aims to start its 615,000 bpd Al-Zour refinery this year, the sources said.
Last year, Kuwait had initially signed a nine-month oil supply contract with Indian refiners but later extended it by three months to March 2022 due to a delay in the commissioning of Al-Zour refinery.
Mexico’s national oil company Pemex has agreed to supply 22,000 bpd (1.1 million tonnes) of oil to IOC, the sources said.
Last year, IOC had term deals to buy 350,000 bpd (17.5 million tonnes) from Iraq’s oil marketing company SOMO, and about 40,000 bpd (2 million tonnes) from Pemex, one of the sources said.
IOC, SOMO, Iraq’s oil ministry and Pemex did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
As OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, Iraq will be able to boost exports by as much as 250,000 bpd from the second quarter after finishing the installation of pumping stations at its Gulf ports, an Iraqi oil source has said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Marianna Parraga; Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Editing by Susan Fenton)
