By Trixie Yap and Nidhi Verma
SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -A tanker will not load fuel from India’s sanctions-hit Nayara Energy refinery as scheduled, according to three industry sources and LSEG shiptracking data, becoming the second such vessel to change plans following the European Union measures.
Nayara Energy, in which Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft has a 49.13% stake, was hit in a fresh package of sanctions imposed on Friday by the European Union over Russia’s war on Ukraine that began in February 2022.
The Chang Hang Xing Yun is now tentatively set to load about 35,000 metric tons (260,750 barrels) of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) from Kuwait on August 1 before heading to East Africa, according to data from LSEG shiptracking and a shipping source on Wednesday.
Chartered by PetroChina, it was previously scheduled to load about 35,000 tons of diesel from July 29 to 31 at Nayara Energy’s Vadinar port, with the cargo bound for either Southeast Asia or Chittagong in Bangladesh, Reuters had reported.
PetroChina and Nayara Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ship was still positioned off the west coast of India on Wednesday.
Earlier, the tanker Talara, chartered by BP, left Nayara’s Vadinar port without loading, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The refiner also did not award a spot naphtha export tender after revising its payment terms, three trade sources said on Wednesday.
An official from one of India’s state refiners said they would not buy Nayara’s products as they already had sufficient supplies to meet local demand for this fiscal year.
The state refiners, which dominate India’s retail fuel sales, will also seek government permission before signing any fresh fuel purchase deals with Nayara, he said.
Nayara will have to sell its fuel at substantial discount to make a case for state retailers or consumers to purchase its fuel, he added.
On Monday, Nayara Energy said it condemned the EU’s “unjust and unilateral” decision to impose sanctions, while India also has said it did not support the bloc’s sanctions.
“Direct sanctions on Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery affects around 15,000 bpd of jet imports into Europe, but as banks may look to limit exposure, credit lines necessary for crude supply into Vadinar may also be impacted, forcing run cuts,” Energy Aspects analysts said in a blog post late last week.
Overall, the new EU sanctions are putting at risk 200,000 bpd of ULSD and 50,000 bpd of jet fuel imports into Europe, as other refineries in India and Turkey are likely to continue to process Russian crude, they added.
(Reporting by Trixie Yap and Nidhi Verma; Additional reporting by Mohi NarayanEditing by Tony Munroe, Clarence Fernandez and Kate Mayberry)
