First purchase of WTI Midland by any Indian company
Reuters reports India’s state owned Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) purchased 1 million barrels of WTI Midland grade. The sale marks the first time an Indian company has bought the US grade, according to an industry source knowledgeable of the deal.
Refiners in India joins a number of countries looking to other markets for cheaper alternatives for crude purchases.
After the OPEC supply cut deal came into effect and drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude or grades with a high sulfur content, South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Taiwan turned to US crude.
Last month BPCL bought high-sulfur Mars and Poseidon crudes from the United States.
In June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington and met with President Donald Trump who said the US is looking forward to boosting its exports of energy products to the third-largest oil buyer in the world.
Last week, Trump said the “golden era” of US energy business was under way.
BPCL says it expects the WTI Midland crude to arrive in October, according to a Reuters’ source.
