<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is restructuring its crude procurement toward delivered-at-port agreements, as the eight-month Iran conflict makes freight and shipping risk a central variable in refinery economics . The shift, disclosed by CFO Devendra Kumar at an analyst meeting on 4 November 2026, places MRPL alongside other Indian refiners that have moved toward delivered-basis purchases since the Strait of Hormuz became a contested corridor.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">Under delivered-at-port contracts, the supplier bears contractual responsibility for delivering the cargo to its destination . For MRPL, this transfers the burden of arranging vessels, managing war-risk insurance, and absorbing freight volatility to the producer. The trade-off is a delivered price that may embed a premium, but Kumar framed the decision as a risk-management imperative: "To de-risk, we would continue to insist on DAP cargoes, but going forward we will evaluate purely based on our delivered economics when things stabilise" </span><span class="">.</span><span class="_5f9bba8" data-citation-group="1" style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;"><a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/mrpl-shifts-to-delivered-basis-crude-oil-purchases-to-reduce-shipping-risks/article71664819.ece" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="6" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a><a href="https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/tankers/indian-refiner-hedges-iran-conflict-freight-risks-with-delivered-crude" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="12" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a></span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The sourcing mix reflects MRPL's effort to diversify away from any single corridor. In the September quarter, the refiner met about a fifth of its crude requirements from the Middle East and around a third from Russia, with domestic crude accounting for about a quarter and the remainder sourced from West Africa and the Americas </span><span class="">. This spread gives MRPL flexibility to adjust as freight economics and security conditions shift, though it also requires managing relationships across multiple supplier regions.</span><span class="_5f9bba8" data-citation-group="3" style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;"><a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/mrpl-shifts-to-delivered-basis-crude-oil-purchases-to-reduce-shipping-risks/article71664819.ece" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="6" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a><a href="https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/tankers/indian-refiner-hedges-iran-conflict-freight-risks-with-delivered-crude" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="12" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a></span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The Russian component of MRPL's supply carries its own freight exposure. Russian barrels reach India via longer voyages from Baltic and Black Sea ports, and the Black Sea security crisis has raised insurance and freight costs on that route. The delivered-basis model allows MRPL to transfer that exposure to Russian suppliers as well, rather than bearing it directly.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">Kumar's expectation that some Middle Eastern producers will offer delivered cargoes under annual supply deals marks a potential structural change in how India buys Gulf crude </span><span class="">. Traditionally, Indian refiners have purchased on a free-on-board basis, arranging their own shipping. If producers begin embedding freight into annual contracts, the procurement model that has governed India-Gulf crude trade for decades could shift permanently, with producers capturing more of the logistics value chain.</span><span class="_5f9bba8" data-citation-group="5" style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;"><a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/mrpl-shifts-to-delivered-basis-crude-oil-purchases-to-reduce-shipping-risks/article71664819.ece" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="6" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a><a href="https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/tankers/indian-refiner-hedges-iran-conflict-freight-risks-with-delivered-crude" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" aria-label="12" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 254); transition: box-shadow 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); border-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border-width: 2px 3px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -3px; text-decoration: none; position: relative;"></a></span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The refiner's priority remains supplying India's domestic fuel market. Kumar said MRPL's fuel exports could decline over the next couple of months as Indian fuel consumption rises </span><span class="">. This aligns with the broader pattern of Indian refiners prioritizing domestic demand as the economy grows, even as they restructure crude sourcing to manage the risks that the Hormuz crisis has imposed on their supply chains.</span></p>