Indian state refiners halt oil imports from Chinese companies

Indian state refiners have stopped buying crude oil from China-linked companies, three sources said, after New Delhi's recent regulation aimed at restricting imports from countries that it shares a border with.

The new regulation, put in place on July 23, comes after a border clash between India and China that killed 20 Indians and soured relations between the two neighbours.

Last week, Indian state refiners decided to stop sending crude import tenders to Chinese trading firm like CNOOC Ltd, Unipec and PetroChina, among others, one of the sources said.

State refiners Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical did not immediately respond to requests for comment.