Bharat Petroleum Sticks to Refinery Expansion Plans Amid West Asian Tensions

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., India's second-largest oil marketing company, has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding refinery capacity despite the recent tensions in West Asia. The company's Director of Finance, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, stated that they expect the current situation to be temporary and that crude prices will cool off if the conflict resolves soon.

The June-end quarter was particularly challenging for India's oil-marketing companies as they sought to shield retail fuel prices from elevated crude prices. Bharat Petroleum diversified its crude sources by acquiring more oil from Russia, Angola, and Venezuela, among others. The company also tapped into the spot market, where purchases surged to about 69% in the first quarter of FY27.

BPCL's Director of Marketing, Subhankar Sen, confirmed that the company increased its LPG procurement from the U.S., which was available without any disturbances. He added that there was not a big difference between the Saudi CP benchmark and the Mont Belvieu benchmark for LPG pricing.