NEW DELHI: India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals declared force majeure on all gasoline export cargoes amid the Middle East conflict that has upended crude oil flows from the Gulf, two traders said on Wednesday.
The two traders, who deal with the company and said they received a notice from them, said MRPL invoked force majeure, a legal term which allows a company to invoke circumstances outside of their control to not fulfil a contract, for its gasoline exports for March and April.
The state-run refiner, which operates a 500,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the southern state of Karnataka, exports about 40 per cent of its refined fuel output.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries around a fifth of oil consumed globally, has virtually stopped after vessels in the area were hit in Iranian attacks after U.S. and Israeli strikes struck the country, leaving energy trade flows in disarray.
MRPL did not immediately respond to Reuters’ email request for a comment. A source with the company, who asked to remain unidentified, confirmed the force majeure.
Indian refiners meet about 40 per cent of their crude needs through purchases from the Middle East, in addition to sourcing from spot markets and processing domestic oil.
India is scouting for alternative sources for importing crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas, a government source said on Tuesday.
MRPL said in January that it was exploring purchases of Venezuelan oil after the refiner halted imports of Russian oil to comply with Western sanctions.
India holds sufficient crude inventories to meet demand for about 25 days. Also, refiners hold a 25-day inventory of gasoil, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas, the government source added.
