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Petronas
Tanker Bhd is expected to secure a
charter contract from Shipping
Corporation of India for the
carriage of crude oil.
A
similar contract has also been
awarded to Colombo-based shipping
company, Ceylon Petroleum by the
Indian national line.
The
Indian operator, which is awaiting
privatization lost its privileged
position in the domestic market with
oil deregulation on April 1, now has
to look further afield to stay
afloat in the oil transport
business.
Under
the terms of the deals, SCI will
initially deploy one tanker for each
company, paid on a per-voyage basis.
The
arrangements are expected to be
extended into long-term contracts
later.
SCI
is also close to signing contracts
with two Indian public-sector oil
companies, Hindustan Petroleum and
Bharat Petroleum, for long-haul and
coastal crude oil transport until
March 2003.
These
two companies cover 65-70 per cent
of the requirements of India’s
state-owned refineries.
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