Asia Crude-India BPCL buys 950,000 bbl Forcados from BP

NEW DELHI, July 23 (Reuters) - Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) (BPCL.BO) has bought 950,000 barrels of Forcados for September loading via a tender, its second purchase of the Nigerian grade in four months, a trade source said.

The state-run refiner has bought the sweet grade from BP (BP.L) at a premium of $4.97 a barrel to Dated Brent, he said.

In its previous tender, for August lifting, BPCL bought one million barrels of Azeri Light from Arcadia at a premium of $1.55 a barrel.

A company source confirmed BPCL was buying Forcados crude, which would be processed at its 150,000-bpd refinery in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

BPCL also operates a 240,000-bpd refinery in Mumbai and holds a majority stake in a 60,000 bpd refinery in northeastern India. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Mark Williams)