A worker holds a nozzle to pump fuel into a two-wheeler vehicle at a BPCL fuel station
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), the second largest Indian oil marketing company, has kept its expansion plans on as it said the refinery capacities are not expected to be affected by the recent flare-up in West Asia.
“We expect this to be a temporary period (the recent flare-up of tensions in West Asia). However, if you look at the overall dynamics of crude availability in terms of supply and demand, it is still in surplus,” Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, Director (Finance) of BPCL told The Hindu in an interaction on Thursday.
Mr. Gupta added that if the conflict resolves soon, it is expected that crude prices will cool off and Bharat Petroleum will be able to recoup their losses.
The June-end quarter turned out to be particularly strenuous for India’s oil-marketing companies as they sought to shield prices of retail fuels as petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) despite elevated crude prices because of the conflict in West Asia.
As a standard practice, refiners usually re-invest their net profits for enhancing capacities and fine-tuning them to accommodate more varieties of crude.
Diversifying crude sources
In response to the drying up of supplies from the Middle East, BPCL diversified their sources – acquiring increased crude oil from Russia – at approximately 38% of the overall basket – and varieties from Angola and Venezuela, among others.
It also tapped increasingly into the spot market, where purchases surged to about 69% in the first quarter of FY27 from 44% in the comparable period last year.
Mr. Gupta said that there were some discounts on spot purchases until the fag-end of June.
Increased LPG procurement from U.S.
In the June-end quarter, BPCL diversified its LPG sources as it procured more from U.S. in the spot market
Subhankar Sen, Director (Marketing) at the oil-marketing company confirmed to The Hindu, that it had purchased more LPG from U.S.
“We increased our spot purchases from U.S., and they were available without any disturbances though they take a longer time for voyage,” he said, adding, “moreover, there was not a big difference between the Saudi CP benchmark (the primary international pricing benchmark for LPG, set monthly by Saudi Aramco) and the Mont Belvieu benchmark (the primary global pricing standard for natural gas liquids).”
Responding to a query about domestic LPG production, Mr. Gupta said it was expected to keep up the momentum acquired with contingency measures taken during the peak of the conflict to ensure adequate availability.
At the peak of the crisis, the Centre had in March 2026 invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to direct refiners to prioritise production of LPG ( a mixture of propane and butane.) for domestic cooking needs amid supply concerns linked to West Asia disruptions as around 60% of India’s LPG is imported, mainly from Gulf countries as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The Government had ordered refiners to maximise LPG production and prioritise domestic supply. Refiners were instructed not to divert propane–butane streams for petrochemicals or other derivatives.
However, New Delhi had relaxed mandatory high-level LPG production and lifted commercial supply curbs on June 25, 2026 as it removed sectoral caps and scaled back the forced diversion of petrochemical hydrocarbon streams after energy cargo flows through the Strait of Hormuz stabilized.
Published – July 24, 2026 08:43 pm IST
