RoydadNaft – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bought five million (mn) barrels of crude oil via a tender, trade sources said.

The purchases comprised Angola’s Kissanje and Nemba grades for delivery to the Paradip refinery and Nigeria’s Usan crude from ExxonMobil for delivery to Vadinar. Abu Dhabi’s Murban grade was also acquired from Mercuria for delivery to Vadinar. The trading arm of TotalEnergies, Totsa, sold Murban for delivery to Chennai.

West African cargoes were reported to have traded at premiums of about four dollars a barrel to dated Brent, while Murban cargoes were sold at flat to a slight premium to dated Brent. Market participants provided the pricing and sourcing details to traders. The companies involved typically do not comment on commercial sales. Reporting credited trade sources in New Delhi and Singapore.

Deliveries to Paradip, Vadinar and Chennai align with the refineries’ crude processing configurations, and Murban is generally suited to coastal units. IOC procured the cargoes through an open tender conducted this week, according to trade channels, and the package was split among several sellers and grades. Traders noted the total package amounted to five mn barrels, covering a mix of West African blends and Middle Eastern crude. The transactions were described as routine commercial activity by market participants.

Market observers will track the incoming shipments as they are scheduled to load and transit to Indian ports, where the crude will be allocated to the receiving refineries. The purchases follow established procurement cycles for state refiners and reflect commercial sourcing to meet refinery requirements. IOC has continued to source from diverse regions to manage refinery crude slates. The reporting relied on trade sources rather than official company statements.