India says it has doubled its annual oil purchase deal with Nigeria for 2015/16 to 60,000 bpd. Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, B. Ashok made this statement recently, Reuters reports.
This also comes as Indian refiners boosted imports of African crude oil in 2015 to the highest in at least five years and slightly cut their intake from Latin America as refiners benefited from changing global oil flows caused by surplus supply.
In 2015, India imported 787,700 barrels per day (bpd) of African oil with the continent accounting for about a fifth of the South Asian nation’s overall imports from 16.7 percent a year ago, according to data compiled by Reuters.
India, the world’s fourth-biggest oil consumer, raised its imports of African oil as the continent’s mainly light, sweet crudes helped fill increasing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel. India’s gasoline consumption rose 14.7 percent in 2015 while diesel climbed 5.3 percent.
Indian Oil Corporation is India’s largest commercial enterprise headquartered in Delhi and as India’s flagship national oil company, has business interests which straddle the entire hydrocarbon value-chain. “We will increase imports from Africa going forward mainly from Nigeria.” India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also added on Friday, ahead of New Delhi hosting a two-day hydrocarbons conference with African nations next week.
Source: Reuters
