Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest state-owned refiner, recently bypassed U.S. crude in its latest procurement tender, instead securing 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude and 1 million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Das grade, trade sources revealed.
According to Reuters Nigerian oil was sourced via TotalEnergies on a free-on-board basis, while the Das crude was procured on a delivered basis and is expected to arrive in Indian ports between late October and early November. This decision comes just a week after IOC purchased 5 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude.
ANN reports that this shift was driven by rising landed costs of U.S. crude—making it less economically viable—despite favorable arbitrage conditions. The U.S. had also recently imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil, further impacting the trade equation.
