New Delhi, Aug 28: State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will issue regular tenders to export petrol and diesel from next month to tide over fall in domestic demand. "We plan to issue regular tenders for petrol, diesel and bitumen from September as local demand has fallen," IOC chairman M S Ramachandran told here.
Petroleum product consumption in the country has fallen by about 3 per cent to 29.4 million tonnes in the first four months of the current fiscal. Sale of diesel, which accounts for almost 40 per cent of total sales, slumped by 5.2 per cent to 12.17 million tonnes in April-July.
IOC plans to increase export of petroleum products to three million tonnes in 2003-04 from just over one million tonne in the previous fiscal.
Ramachandran said the company has finalised import of 0.8 million tonnes of Gulf of Suez mix crude oil from Egypt. "We will soon sign a term contract with BP for import of 0.8 million tonnes of sour crude by March 2004."
This would be the second deal after the recently concluded one with Brunei, where IOC would be importing crude from a private firm instead of a government company.
Government recently relaxed the policy on imports and allowed oil companies to get into direct deals with private equity oil producers. Earlier, state-run firms were allowed to contract term crude only from national oil companies.
The sour grade Suez mix crude (high in sulphur) would be processed at IOC's Koyali, Panipat and Mathura refineries, he said. Bureau Report