By Nidhi Verma and Florence Tan

       NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Kuwait has extended oil supply contracts for Indian refiners by three months to March 2022 due to a delay in the commissioning of its 615,000 barrel-per-day Al-Zour refinery, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

       This year, Kuwait had shortened an annual oil supply deal with Indian refiners to 9 months ending in December.

       Kuwait Petroleum Corp has told buyers in India that their contracts would be extended to March 2022, sources said.

       The sources did not elaborate on when the new Kuwaiti refinery would begin operating. KPC did not respond to a request for comment.

       India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, imported about 382,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil from Kuwait in November, the highest since March 2015, trade data showed.

       From March to November 2021, India's imports of oil from Kuwait rose by about 45% to 253,000 bpd compared with the same period a year ago, the data showed.

       (Reporting by Nidhi Verma. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

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