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India's state-run oil company Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. is set to begin supplying marine fuels at the port of Kandla, located on the Gulf of Kutch, western India, according to industry sources.

The news means that Bharat Petroleum will be increasing its presence in the district of Gujarat where it is currently a supplier of marine lubricants at the ports of Kandla, Mumbai and Mundra and a physical supplier of marine fuels at Mumbai via Matrix Bharat, a joint venture with Matrix Marine Fuels.

Matrix Bharat began supplying 380-cst marine fuel at Mumbai in December 2009, sourcing product from Bharat Petroleum's 135,000 bpd Mumbai refinery. The company is now estimated to sell around 3,000-4,000 tonnes per month at the west coast port.

The joint venture firm also began offering bunker fuel at Kochi in July 2010. It supplies 380-centistoke (cst) fuel oil from Cochin Oil Terminal and Wellington Island in Kochi, sourcing its product from Bharat Petroleum's 172,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Kochi Refinery and delivered to customers by barge. Bharat Petroleum is also a marine lubricants supplier there.

Elsewhere in India, Bharat Petrolem supplies marine lubricants at Calcutta, Chennai, JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) and New Mangalore.

Matrix Bharat also supplies bunker fuels at Chennai, but not on a regular basis. The company sources its product from Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd's refinery. The company, formerly known as Madras Refineries Limited (MRL), is a unit of Indian Oil Corporation.