India turns to West African oil and buys two million barrels for Rajasthan refinery
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Trade sources revealed on Tuesday that India's Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has struck a deal to purchase about two million barrels of crude oil from West Africa through an international tender to secure the needs of its refinery in Rajasthan state.
According to informed sources, the deal included the purchase of Nigerian crude oils “Okuibumi” and ”Otapati” from the global trading company “Glencore”, for the benefit of the company’s Rajasthan refinery (HRRL), which has a refining capacity of about 180,000 barrels per day.
In another context, although West Africa is famous for its huge gold reserves, its subsoil is also rich in strategic minerals such as lithium, graphite, copper and coltan, resources that have become at the heart of geopolitical competition between major powers. With the competition intensifying between China and the United States in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, this conflict appears likely to extend to the west of the continent.
The presence of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) at the “Mining in the Heart of Africa” conference, held in early July in Paris, reflects Washington’s efforts to strengthen its foothold in the West African mining sector.
Chinese companies already control a number of strategic assets. The organization's involvement comes about 18 months after it opened its regional office in Abidjan, which is responsible for evaluating mining and manufacturing projects, as well as the infrastructure needed for their development.
“The opportunities are enormous,” said Pierre Conde, the regional director of the International Development Finance Corporation for West and Central Africa, in remarks to Ecofin on the sidelines of the conference. He added that the corporation is currently evaluating “a large number of projects,” particularly in Guinea.
Many initiatives combine mineral extraction with local manufacturing, without disclosing details of the projects under consideration.
The shipment is expected to arrive in India by the end of September, as part of the company's efforts to secure a stable supply of crude oil to meet increasing demand.
The financial value of the deal was not disclosed, and the parties involved declined to comment, which is in line with usual practices in oil trading deals.
It is noted that Hindustan Petroleum owns a controlling stake of 74% in the Rajasthan refinery, while the remaining percentage belongs to the state government.
