Indian Oil Refiners Go On A Spree To Buy Coronavirus Hit China Bound Oil At Discounted Rates

The clampdown of demand in the Coronavirus hit China has brought a stream of opportunities for Indian oil refiners who are buying crude oil headed to China at steep discounts as China has sharply cut down its refining output by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day, reports The Hindu.

Indian refiners are leaving no stone unturned to make the most of the unexpected opportunity which has come up their way in the way of freight charges going down by almost 50 per cent and spot prices of crude oil getting discounted by as much as $3 to $5 per barrel.

Refiners from India have thus been able to source certain varieties of crude oil for as low as $49 per barrel given the global crude prices have registered major fall from a high of close to $70 per barrel before the Coronavirus breakout was first reported.

State owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has bought five such cargoes in the last one month at steep discounts. Buoyed by the opportunity in the spot markets, the oil sector behemoth is set to buy more of such cargoes.