MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, is close to winning its first contract to export up to 720,000 tons of clean products to Mauritius under an annual deal from November, reported Reuters with reference to two sources familiar with the matter.
IOC mostly stays away from participating in term tenders for fuel exports as the refiner sells most of its fuel in the local market, besides supplying its retail outlets in Nepal and Bhutan.
This year because of falling local demand due to COVID-19 and weak margins, the company is attempting to lock in sales of its fuels.
IOC this year also won its first contract to supply fuels to Bangladesh.
IOC will deliver 205,000 tons of 95 RON gasoline, 235,000 tons of 10 ppm gasoil, 175,000 tons of jet fuel and up to 105,000 tonne of marine gasoil at Port Louis in Mauritius, sources said.
Other companies that competed for the tender issued by State Trading Corp of Mauritius were the trading arm of France’s Total, Sahara Energy Resources Ltd, OQ Trading and Vitol, according to a document seen by Reuters.
India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd supplied Mauritius’ full requirement for fuel for 12 years to 2018/19. In 2019/20 refined fuels were supplied by Petrochina and Vitol.
IOC had placed a second lowest premium on gasoline after OQ Trading but the lowest premiums on other fuels to emerge as the frontrunner for the annual tender, the document showed.
IOC has offered to sell fuels at premiums of USD50.15 per tonne for gasoline, USD3.58 per barrel for gasoil, USD3.22 per barrel for jet fuel and USD5.91 per barrel for marine gasoil, the document showed.
The tender closed in mid-August.
The sources did not wish to be identified citing confidentiality. IOC and STC did not respond to Reuters emailed requests for comment.
As MRC informed previously, Indian Oil says it will build an integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facility at Paradip in Odisha State, India, at an estimated investment of 138 billion Indian rupees (USD1.84 billion). The project will be completed by early 2024, with the complex planned to produce 800,000 metric tons/year of p-xylene and 1.2 million metric tons/year of PTA, it says.
PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material in June.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
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