据《Rakesh Sharma》和《Mihir Mishra》的报道，印度炼油企业正在租用油轮，通过霍尔木兹海峡从波斯湾采购原油。这一策略的改变旨在帮助它们降低成本并保障供应链的稳定性。
By Rakesh Sharma and Mihir Mishra Indian oil refiners are hiring tankers to sail through the Strait of Hormuz to pick up crude from within the Persian Gulf, a change of tactics to help them cut costs and secure their supply chains.
据知情人士透露，这些炼油企业已经发布了招标文件，并正在与航运公司进行谈判。据他们透露，Sinokor集团和Dynacom Tankers Management有限公司已经中标（不过这些人士要求匿名，因为他们没有获得向媒体发言的授权）。印度航运公司（Shipping Corp. of India）和Lila Global也参与了竞标，但他们的投标被取消了。
Processors have issued tenders and are negotiating with shipping lines, according to people familiar with their efforts. So far, Sinokor Group and Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. have been awarded tenders, said the people, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to media. Shipping Corp. of India and Lila Global also made bids but those tenders were canceled, they said.
这一举措标志着印度炼油企业的重大转变：自美伊战争爆发以来，由于担心遭到袭击，印度炼油企业一直避免自行派遣油轮通过霍尔木兹海峡。此前，它们依赖海湾地区的原油生产国和国际贸易商来承担通过该争议水域运输原油的风险；作为代价，印度炼油企业需要支付高额的运输费用（即“成本加运费”模式下的费用）。
The move marks a shift for Indian refiners, who have avoided sending their own tankers through Hormuz since early in the US-Iran war due to the risk of attacks. Instead, they relied on gulf producers and international traders to shoulder the risk of transiting the contested waterway and delivering barrels to India, which involved paying a hefty premium for the service on a so-called cost and freight basis.
然而，最近几周，印度石油公司（Indian Oil Corp.）、信实工业有限公司（Reliance Industries Ltd.）、巴拉特石油公司（Bharat Petroleum Corp.）以及HPCL-Mittal Energy有限公司开始以“离岸价格”（FOB price）购买伊拉克原油。根据这种交易方式，买家需要自行负责安排船只装载原油并将其运送到目的地。虽然这种交易方式有助于印度炼油企业控制成本，但寻找和租用合适的油轮仍然面临诸多困难。
In recent weeks, however, Indian Oil Corp., Reliance Industries Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. have bought Iraqi crude on a free-on-board basis. Such sales require the buyers to handle the logistics of sending a vessel to load the cargo and then delivering it to its destination. The FOB deals give Indian refiners a chance to control costs, although finding and securing tankers isn’t straightforward.
印度石油公司、信实工业有限公司、巴拉特石油公司、HPCL-Mittal Energy有限公司、Sinokor集团、Dynacom Tankers Management有限公司以及印度航运公司、Lila Global均未立即回复记者的采访请求。
Indian Oil, Reliance, Bharat Petroleum, HPCL-Mittal, Sinokor, Dynacom, Shipping Corp. of India and Lila Global didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
这一策略的调整，是在霍尔木兹海峡的航运流量在过去几个月里有所恢复，以及沙特阿拉伯的东-西输油管道重新投入使用之后作出的。摩根大通本周在一份报告中指出，目前从中东进口的原油量已恢复到战前的98%。由于美国不断增加的政治压力，印度也越来越不愿意接收俄罗斯提供的原油货物。
The change in strategy comes after a recovery in flows through Hormuz in recent months, and the restoration of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. Shipments of crude oil from the Middle East are now at 98% of pre-war levels, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a note this week. India is also becoming more reluctant to take Russian cargoes due to rising political pressure from the US.
此前，从海湾地区进口原油一直存在困难——新德里方面不允许前往该地区的船只使用印度船员。不过在8月份，印度航运总局放宽了相关规定，要求船东和货运代理在船只通过霍尔木兹海峡之前必须获得印度海员的同意，而非直接禁止他们参与运输工作。
Picking up crude from within the gulf had been difficult because New Delhi wasn’t permitting ships making the voyage to use Indian crew. However, in August, the Directorate General of Shipping softened its advisory, asking shipowners and placement agencies to obtain consent of Indian seafarers before going through Hormuz rather than banning them.
印度炼油企业改变策略的另一个原因可能是：伊拉克国有石油销售公司SOMO为10月份的合同供应提供了高达每桶37美元的折扣。根据Kpler的数据，9月份通过霍尔木兹海峡运往印度的原油日均流量约为130万桶，达到了自战争爆发前的2月份以来的最高水平。印度从中东地区进口的原油总量约为每天280万桶，其中还包括通过红海运输的沙特原油。
Another reason that Indian refiners may have changed tactics is that SOMO, Iraq’s state-owned oil marketer, has been offering buyers discounts of as much as $37 a barrel below regional benchmarks for contracted supplies for October. Volumes of oil flowing through the strait and heading to India averaged about 1.3 million barrels a day in September, the highest since February, before the start of the war, according to Kpler. Overall Indian crude imports from the Middle Eastern imports are to about 2.8 million barrels a day, which includes Saudi supplies sent via the Red Sea.