HPCL, BPCL have secured crude supplies till August, scouting for September

State-owned oil-marketing companies, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, have secured their supplies until the end of August and are working on procuring supplies for September onwards, executives of the two oil-marketing companies told analysts in their respective post-results call Thursday.

Speaking to analysts, Vikas Kaushal, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) at Hindustan Petroleum informed the refiner had supplies stocked until the end of August.

“We are very well covered for our crude till the end of August fully. In fact, yesterday we have started to buy for September,” informed Mr. Kaushal.

Separately, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, Director (Finance) at Bharat Petroleum also informed that their stocks too were tied until August and had begun scouting for September onwards.

The first tranche of the conflict in West Asia which spanned for more than hundred days disrupted shipping and energy trade through the essential energy route, that is, the Strait of Hormuz.

Consequently, the shipping disruptions caused prices of benchmark brent crude staying elevated beyond the $100 per barrel mark for sustained periods.

Amid the supply disruptions from the West Asian route, the refiners informed they increasingly tapped to spot purchases from elsewhere.

Mr. Gupta told analysts that Bharat Petroleum spurred their spot purchases to about 69% of the overall basket in the first quarter compared to 44% in the comparable period last year.

The Director (Finance) also informed analysts that Bharat Petroleum also diversified its crude sourcing outside from outside the Strait of Hormuz, including from Russia, Venezuela and Angola.

“This is including increasing the Russian crude grades to 38% of the total procurement during the quarter,” he stated.

Specifically on Russian crude, Mr. Gupta informed that it was reviewing offers coming for September procurement.

About potential discounts on crude from Russia, he stated, “We have to wait, maybe next one week, we will come to know what the scenario would be. Although based on recent developments in the crude market, no one [presently] is offering any discount for Russian crude.”

The Mumbai-based refiners posted a net loss in the June-end quarter – their first since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Spokesperson for the Hindustan Petroleum, in response to a query from The Hindu, emphasised, “The first quarter of FY27 was marked by heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia, leading to increased volatility in global energy markets and significant upward pressure on crude oil prices,”, adding, “Throughout this period, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) remained focused on its primary responsibility, ensuring uninterrupted availability of petroleum products and LPG across the country.”

However, the recent flare-up of tensions in the region have yet again sent oil prices spiralling upwards to breach the $100 per barrel – mark.

At the time of writing Thursday evening, the benchmark brent crude futures (September) were trading 7% higher than its previous close at $100.65 per barrel.

Responding to a query about the Hindustan Petroleum’s outlook about the near-term scenario at the call earlier in the day, Mr. Kaushal held, “These are very dynamic times. So, we will have to take it as it comes.”