(Repeats story published on Thursday with no changes to text)
* IOC, MRPL term volumes to drop by 10-17% - sources
* BPCL, HPCL volumes expected to fall - sources
* Reliance switches to Basra Medium from Basra Light -
sources
NEW DELHI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Iraq has reduced annual
supplies of Basra crude oil to several Indian refiners by up to
20% for 2021, industry sources said, in a rare move by OPEC's
second-largest producer which is trying to meet its obligations
under the group's production deal.
Iraq was the top oil supplier to India in 2020 and a
reduction in long-term Basra crude supplies could erode
Baghdad's market share in the world's third largest oil importer
and consumer.
Iraq's Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has reduced the 2021
Basra term volumes to several Indian refiners by between 10% and
20%, the sources said.
SOMO did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
"We never expected Iraq to cut volumes. We may have to look
for alternatives like tapping the spot markets," said a source
at one of the Indian refiners.
"This is happening at a time when we are preparing to
increase run rates as fuel demand is recovering."
SOMO told Indian refiners that it had reduced annual
contracts for all Asian buyers to compensate for higher volumes
produced in the previous year, one of the sources said.
Iraq has been striving to meet its output target under an
agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries and allies, including Russia, to limit production and
support global oil prices. Baghdad is heavily reliant on oil
revenues to support the country's economy.
Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said earlier in
January that it will stay committed to OPEC decisions and
compensate for its overproduction.
India on Tuesday complained that recent output cuts by some
OPEC countries had created uncertainty for customers and led to
a surge in global oil prices.
The changes in term supply volumes come as Iraq launched its
new sour crude grade Basra Medium in January by splitting
existing Basra Light crude production into two grades to improve
the quality of its oil. SOMO also exports a third grade Basra
Heavy.
The sources said SOMO cut term supplies to Indian Oil Corp
, the country's top refiner and its biggest Indian
client, by 10% to about 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) for all
three Basra crude grades, while the volume for Mangalore
Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd fell by 17% to 50,000
bpd.
SOMO is planning to cut the oil contract of Bharat Petroleum
by about a quarter from last year's 100,000 bpd, the
sources said, adding that discussions with BPCL were still
ongoing as the Indian company's annual contract begins from
April.
Hindustan Petroleum, which buys Basra Light oil,
has asked SOMO to reduce its term supplies to about 50,000 bpd
in 2021, down from about 80,000 bpd in 2020.
Iraq has agreed to HPCL's request for lower supplies, while
the companies are in talks about additional supply of Basra
Medium grade, they said.
The annual oil contract for Reliance Industries,
operator of the world's largest refining complex, has also been
changed. Reliance will get 33,000 bpd of Basra Medium grade
instead of 66,000 bpd of Basra Light, the sources said.
The Indian refiners did not respond to Reuters' requests for
comment.
The supply cuts to India followed a $2.5 billion oil
prepayment deal between SOMO and Chinese state oil trader
Zhenhua Oil Corp for 48 million barrels of Basra crude.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma
Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad
Editing by Florence Tan and Jane Merriman)