State-run BPCL to sign $780 mn crude sourcing deal with Brazil’s Petrobras
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) will sign a contract with Brazilian Petrobras next week to supply 12 million barrels of crude oil, the oil ministry said, as India continues to diversify its resources outside Russia and West Asia.
The contract will be signed at India Energy Week 2026, to be held in Goa from January 27-30. BPCL and Petrobras signed a one-year contract in February last year. According to the new contract, crude oil will be supplied throughout FY27.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said the global market is changing rapidly and India is diversifying its oil import basket to manage the volatile scenario. Puri said that India used to buy oil from 27 countries, but now it buys oil from 41 countries. “We basically let the market make the necessary decision,” he said.
The contract assumes importance amid volatile global oil markets, including Russia’s supply slowdown, the latest U.S. intervention in Venezuela and ongoing tensions in West Asia. India imported nearly 90% of its oil needs, supplying $161 billion worth of oil in the last fiscal year. India is the world’s third largest importer of crude oil after the US and China, and its demand is increasing every year.
A report by parliament’s standing committee on oil and natural gas last month raised concerns over India’s dependence on oil imports amid an uncertain geopolitical scenario and asked the government to diversify the country’s crude resource strategy.
Puri said, “More and more energy is coming to the global market from the Western Hemisphere. By the Western Hemisphere, I mean Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Canada. The USA produces 13 million barrels per day. Therefore, we are positioning ourselves in this regard,” Puri said and expressed his optimism that India can manage this situation.
As imports from Russia, once India’s biggest supplier, continue to decline, domestic refiners are diversifying their oil sources and increasing supplies from West Asia, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Guyana, West Africa, the US and Canada. In December, Iraq became India’s second largest supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA, Kuwait and Brazil.
energy partnerships
Among energy tie-ups, state-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) and its subsidiary Numaligarh Refinery Ltd will sign an MoU with French energy giant TotalEnergies to tap the liquefied natural gas market and provide resource potential for future requirements of both OIL and NRL. NRL will also tie up with TotalEnergies to set up a 200 KTPA (kilo tonnes per annum) sustainable aviation fuel project (SAF) in Paradip, Odisha.
The official statement also stated that during India Energy Week 2026, BPCL’s offshore arm Bharat PetroResources Ltd will sign a memorandum of understanding with UK-based Shell at the annual event for potential collaboration and exploration opportunities globally.
At the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roundtable meeting with global executives, Indian public and private sector energy companies. CEOs will include executives from TotalEnergies, bp, Vitol, HD Hyundai, HD KSOE, Aker, Lanzatech, Vedanta, Excelerate, Wood Mckenzie, Trafigura, Staatsolie, Praj and ReNew.
Additionally, Puri will co-chair the ‘India-Arab Energy Dialogue’, which will include representatives from the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Sudan and Djibouti. Other meetings will include the India-Japan Round Table, India-Netherlands Round Table and India-Iceland Round Table, which will be attended by business representatives from the relevant countries.
