INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, will supply domestic buyers with an additional 4 million barrels of
crude oil in November, several sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The extra cargoes indicate a willingness by Saudi Arabia
to increase crude supply to make up the shortfall once sanctions by the United States on oil exports from Iran, the third-largest producer
in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), start up on November 4.India is Iran's top oil client after China, though
several refiners have indicated they will stop taking Iranian barrels because of the sanctions.Reliance Industries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum
Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd are seeking an additional 1 million barrels each in November from
Saudi Arabia, the sources said.Three of the companies did not immediately reply to an email from Reuters seeking comment
MRPL replied "no comments" when contacted by email.State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco was not immediately available for comment.Given
their dependence on Iranian oil supplies, the domestic refiners are concerned about the loss of Iranian crude once the sanctions start and
Refiners in the country have placed orders to buy 9 million barrels from Iran in November.One of the reasons for the additional demand for
Saudi oil is that the crude arbitrage from the United States is shut so the domestic buyers have to turn to Middle Eastern barrels, said one
of the sources.India, the world's third biggest oil importer, is grappling with a combination of rising oil prices and falling local
currency, which makes imports of dollar-denominated oil more expensive
Retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel in India are at record highs and the government has cut its excise tax on fuel to ease some of
the pain for consumers.Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday that he spoke with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih last week and
reminded him that OPEC and other major oil producers had promised to raise their output at a meeting in June.The country imports an average
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
