Indian refinery runs recover in September

Indian refinery throughput fell last month by 8.6pc from a year earlier, a smaller drop than the 27pc in August after India relaxed Covid-19 restrictions on economic activity. A shutdown at private-sector Reliance Industries' (RIL) Jamnagar refinery complex limited September runs.

Crude runs fell to 4.33mn b/d last month from 4.74mn b/d a year earlier and from a targeted 5.07mn b/d, according to preliminary oil ministry data. Runs at 3.8mn b/d were lower in August because of maintenance at two refineries. Throughput is expected to rise further in October because of a recovery in diesel demand, India's most consumed fuel.

India's state-controlled refineries, including those run as joint ventures, processed 2.74mn b/d of crude in September compared with 2.4mn b/d in August and 2.91mn b/d a year earlier. Runs were constrained by lower utilisation of 244,000 b/d at IOC's 300,000 b/d Paradip refinery on the east coast compared with 342,000 b/d a year earlier. IOC has increased runs to around 85pc now and is aiming for full utilisation by March.

But India's private-sector refineries reduced crude throughput to around 1.6mn b/d last month from 1.4mn b/d in August and from 1.83mn b/d a year earlier. This was driven by a shutdown at RIL's 704,000 b/d export-oriented refinery at the 1.36mn b/d Jamnagar complex on the west coast.

RIL processed 1.22mn b/d at Jamnagar in September, up from 1.04mn b/d in August but down from 1.44mn b/d a year earlier. Nayara Energy, which is owned by Russia's state-controlled Rosneft, processed around 366,000 b/d last month at the 400,000 b/d Vadinar refinery in western India last month compared with 355,000 b/d in August and 391,000 b/d a year earlier.

By S Dinakar