SINGAPORE: Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd is seeking a total of 49,000 tonnes of gasoline for September delivery in a move to plug a supply gap caused possibly by its refinery maintenance, traders said on Thursday.

This could add to the regional supply tightness as counterpart Indian Oil Corp has become a regular gasoline importer this year due to a supply crunch in the country.

BPCLBSE 0.82 % is looking to buy 16,000 tonnes of Euro III gasoline and 8,000 tonnes of Euro IV gasoline for Sept. 4-6 delivery to Mumbai and Goa.

It is also seeking 20,000 tonnes of Euro III gasoline and 5,000 tonnes of Euro IV fuel for Sept. 19-21 delivery to Kochi through a tender closing on Aug. 11, with offers to stay valid until Aug 13.

BPCL plans to shut a 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude unit at its 190,000 bpd Kochi refinery for about 10 starting from Sept. 26, a company source said on Tuesday.