印度购买数百万桶沙特原油作为战略储备

据世界石油4月8日新德里报道，世界第三大石油消费国的印度，将抢购数百万桶中东原油作为其战略储备。

据知情官员透露，此次购买旨在利用低价市场现状。

虽然印度的储量相对较小，但购买是一个重要信号，表明主要消费国正努力在重新平衡这个受到疫情冲击的市场方面发挥自己的作用。

新德里的举动似乎是二十国集团对油价暴跌做出的更广泛反应的一部分。国际能源署署长法提赫?比罗尔鼓励有库存的石油进口国利用油价较低的机会抢购石油。比罗尔在上周的一次采访中表示：“石油消费者可以通过充实其战略石油储备来提供帮助。”

以沙特阿拉伯和俄罗斯为首的主要产油国目前正努力达成一项协议，在周四欧佩克联盟和其他产油国召开会议之前，停止价格战，并将全球石油日产量削减约1000万桶。普拉丹部长也将在第二天参加二十国集团能源部长会议。

这些官员称，印度政府可能会要求国有炼油商预先从沙特阿拉伯、阿联酋和伊拉克购买原油，然后再进行付款。

印度在芒伽罗、帕杜尔和维萨卡帕特南的三个战略储备中还有1500万桶原油的储备空间。这些官员表示，财政部已经批准了石油部的资金申请。

知情官员称，印度正寻求购买550万桶阿联酋的上扎库姆原油以充实芒伽罗战略储备，为帕杜尔基地购买约920万桶沙特原油，并还将为维萨卡帕特南战略储备基地购买一些伊拉克的巴士拉轻质油。

裘寅 编译自 世界石油

原文如下：

India buying millions of barrels of Saudi crude for strategic reserves

India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer, is set to snap up millions of barrels of Middle East crude for its strategic reserves, signaling its support for global efforts to rescue the energy market.

The purchases are aimed at taking advantage of low prices, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. But two of them said they’re also a signal of solidarity for the campaign to stabilize markets after Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan spoke with his U.S. and Saudi Arabian counterparts and the head of the International Energy Agency.

While India’s storage capacity is relatively small, the purchases are an important sign that major consuming countries are trying to play their part in rebalancing a market that’s been pummeled by the coronavirus.

New Delhi’s move appears to be part of a broader G-20 response to the collapse in oil prices. Fatih Birol, the head of the IEA, has encouraged oil importers with available storage to take advantage of low prices to snap barrels. “Oil consumers can help by filling up their strategic petroleum reserves,“ Birol said in an interview last week.

Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are currently trying to stitch together a deal to call off their price war and cut worldwide oil output by around 10 million barrels a day ahead of a meeting of the OPEC+ alliance and other producers on Thursday. Minister Pradhan is also set to take part in a meeting of G-20 energy ministers the following day.

The Indian government may ask state-run refiners to buy the crude upfront from Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Iraq and reimburse them later, the officials said, asking not to be named as the information is private.

The country has space for an additional 15 million barrels of crude across its three strategic reserves at Mangalore, Padur and Visakhapatnam. The finance ministry has approved a request for funds from the oil ministry, the officials said.

India is seeking to buy around 5.5 million barrels of the U.A.E.’s Upper Zakum crude for Mangalore and about 9.2 million barrels of Saudi oil for the Padur caverns, the officials said. It will also buy some of Iraq’s Basrah Light grade for Visakhapatnam.