HPC to import low sulphur

TOKYO, Feb 23: India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has issued a monthly tender to import low sulphur, or sweet, crude oil for April loading after skipping similar tenders for the previous month, traders said on Friday.

HPCL is seeking mainly West African, North African, and Southeast Asian crude, they said.

Offers are due on Wednesday and will remain valid until Friday.

HPCL, India's second-largest state-owned refiner, has a capacity to process 260,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The refiner had not issued monthly tenders since late last year, probably because of planned 30-day maintenance at its 55,000 barrels-per-day Mumbai plant early in 2007, traders said.

Late last year, it bought 600,000 barrels of February lifting Malaysian crude via a tender.

REUTERS