State-run Indian Oil Corporation will import 31.41 million tonnes of crude oil this fiscal, 53 per cent of which would be on term contracts.

IOC and its subsidiary Chennai and Bongaigoan refineries require 45.7 million tonnes of crude in 2003-04, of which 31.41 million tonnes would be imported, company Chairman M S Ramachandran told PTI in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Besides, IOC would import 5 million tonnes of Iranian crude for Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd.

IOC, which imported 31.26 million tonnes of crude in 2002-03, will buy about 16.7 million tonnes of crude this fiscal on annual term contracts with national oil companies of producer countries while the remaining would be procured from spot market on short monthly tender, he said.

For 2003-04, IOC has contracted 4.5 million tonnes from Saudi Aramco, 1.7 million tonnes from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, 7 million tonnes from Kuwait Petroleum

Corporation, 2 million tonnes from Petronas of Malaysia, 0.5 million tonnes from Brunei and one million tonnes from British Petroleum.

Company officials said of the 36.10 million tonnes crude requirement by seven refineries of IOC, 10.06 million tones is sourced from domestic oil fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd. ONGC supplies 2.23 million tonnes of domestic crude to Chennai Refineries while IOC imports its balance requirement of 5.37 million tonnes.

The entire 2 million tonnes requirement of Bongaigaon refinery is fed from ONGC and OIL fields in the North-East.

In 2002-03, IOC had contracted 15.8 million tonnes of crude on term contracts - 4.5 million tonnes from Saudi Arabia, 6 million tonnes from Kuwait, 2 million tonnes each from Abu Dhabi and Malaysia, 1 million tonnes from Nigeria and 0.3 million tonnes from Libya.

Sources said Nigeria's NNPC refused IOC a term agreement for supply of 2 million tonnes of crude this fiscal while Petronas declined additional 0.5 million tonnes.

The Indian firm is exploring contracting 1.5 million tonnes of Masila crude from Yemen for which talks have been initiated.