India’s HPCL issues fuel import tenders after disruptions at Mumbai refinery, sources say

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: India’s Hindustan Petroleum issued two rare tenders to import transport fuels for early November delivery, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, after the company shut one of its processing units due to feedstock contamination.

Chairman Vikas Kaushal said on Tuesday HPCL had closed its gasoline-producing continuous catalytic reformer during the processing of contaminated oil that it had sourced from Hindustan Oil Exploration Company. HOECL said in a statement it will engage in talks with HPCL over redressing the issue.

HPCL has sought about 34,000 tons of gasoline and 65,000 tons of gasoil for delivery between November 1 and 10 at the port of Mundra on the western coast of India, one of the sources said.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the tenders.

The tenders, closing on Tuesday, were issued after the “operational issues” arose at the company’s Mumbai refinery, the second source said.

HPCL said in a statement to the National Stock Exchange on Monday that the oil was “found to be causing operational issues including corrosion in downstream units, yielding suboptimal outputs and turning down production”.

“Potential reasons are the very high salt and chloride content in the crude oil,” it added.