IOC Purchases 2Mn Barrels West African Crude

NEW DELHI: State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) granted a tender to purchase two million barrels of West African crude in it latest spot tender for end June or July -loading. IOC purchased Girassol variety at a discount of around $1 to dated Brent, while Escravos has been purchased at a premium of around $2 from Mitsui. IOC is diversifying its crude basket and trying new grades of high sulphur and heavy crudes to gain from higher margins. IOC, which has about 10 refineries spread across India with a total capacity of 1.204 million bpd, tenders several times a month to purchase crude, mainly light sweet West African grades.