Indian government officials have said they do not anticipate any interruptions in oil deliveries from Saudi Arabia. One Oil Ministry representative told S&P Global Platts on September 19 that Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, had assured New Delhi of its ability to continue delivering the promised volumes without any downtime.
Representatives of state-run Indian refinery operators such as Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd echoed these sentiments. As one company representative said: “Saudi Aramco will fulfill its supply commitment at any cost.”
The government officials and refinery representatives all noted, though, that Riyadh would be using heavy oil to cover its obligations, regardless of whether the buyers had contracted for lighter grades. Oil Ministry officials said they did not expect the substitution to present any problems since most of India’s refineries are configured to process heavy sour grades of crude.