Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has issued a spot tender for crude oil imports that explicitly instructs suppliers to avoid the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
The state-owned refiner, a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, operates a 300,000 barrels per day facility in Karnataka and has historically sourced from a wide array of global grades.
This tender marks the first time the company has formally excluded these two strategic waterways from its procurement terms, reflecting a sharp escalation in risk aversion among major Asian buyers.
The move underscores the tangible impact of geopolitical tensions on global energy logistics.
By banning transit through the Red Sea and Hormuz, MRPL is effectively narrowing its supplier pool to regions that can deliver via alternative, often longer, routes.
This constraint typically translates into higher freight rates and potential delays, squeezing refining margins.