India's Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) has turned to Oman to make up for a shortfall in naphtha supplies from Kuwait and Qatar linked to the Middle East conflict, according to shipping data and an industry source.
Loading ports of Oman fall right outside the conflict zone and loadings from its terminals have largely been unaffected by the war so far.
Medium-range tanker Rarity loaded about 23,000 tonnes (201,000 barrels) of naphtha for HPL late-March and discharged at the Haldia terminal on April 13, according to consultancy Energy Aspects' cargo-tracking.
"We are actively exploring multiple sourcing options for naphtha imports and continuously monitoring the evolving situation," Navanit Narayan, its chief executive officer said in response to a Reuters email seeking comment, without mentioning specific countries.
Haldia Petrochemicals buys naphtha for its 700,000 tonne-per-year ethylene cracker in India's Haldia in the eastern state of West Bengal primarily from the Middle East via long-term contracts with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Qatar Energy, and partly from local refiners.
KPC declared force majeure on shipments of crude oil and refined products on April 17, a notice reviewed by Reuters showed.
Qatar Energy indicated that it was facing problems in loading naphtha cargoes soon after announcing force majeure at its LNG facility, an Asian buyer said.
HPL is also trying to buy small parcels of naphtha from the United Arab Emirates, the first source said. The company is majority owned by US-based private equity firm The Chatterjee Group (TCG).
(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; editing by Philippa Fletcher)