IOC refineries reach full throttle in November on steady demand growth – Times of India
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NEW DELHI: IndianOil Corporation’s (IOC) refineries reached full throttle in November as all its 11 units worked at 100% capacity, against 98.6% in the year-ago period, on the back of a sustained rebound in demand for fuel and other products.
“The Indian economy continues to witness the green shoots of revival. As we get closer to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, the fundamentals of the economy being strong, we see a rapid V-shaped recovery in the overall consumption of petroleum products,” company chairman S M Vaidya said on Tuesday.
IndianOil’s refinery rate is considered a bellwether for fuel consumption as it is India’s largest oil refiner and fuel retailer with a capacity to process 1.6 million barrels a day of oil, or about a third of the country’s daily intake. Capacity utilisation had reached 88% in October.
A company statement said the refinery run rate has been helped by growth in demand for non-fuel and speciality products such as fuel oil, bitumen, pet coke and sulphur.
Consumption of petrol, diesel, ATF and LPG has been growing over the last few months as economic activity picked up on gradual removal of Covid restrictions. Diesel sales topped the pre-Covid level in October by clocking a 6% year-on-year growth. But demand fell 7% from the year-ago level in November, although sales were 8% higher than October.
Latest data on core industries in November last week showed refinery output declining 17% from a year ago in October and 16.4% in the April-October period as the economy shrank 7.5% in the third quarter after slumping nearly 24% in the previous three months.
But the festivities, even though muted, pushed petrol demand by 5% from a year ago in November as people preferred driving to their home towns, visit relatives or a holiday destination. Petrol consumption has been growing by about 4% for the last few months but became flat during the first fortnight.
Consumption of LPG, or household cooking fuel, increasing more than 4% in November on more home cooking — instead of eating out to celebrate — as families largely remained restricted to their homes. Consumption was down 2% from a year ago in the first fortnight.
Jet fuel sales were down more than 48% in November from a year ago, recovering plenty of ground since September but still remained 48% short of the pre-Covid level as the number of flights still remain curtailed. This shows sales recovered ground as they were 52.8% lower from a year ago in the first fortnight.
“The Indian economy continues to witness the green shoots of revival. As we get closer to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, the fundamentals of the economy being strong, we see a rapid V-shaped recovery in the overall consumption of petroleum products,” company chairman S M Vaidya said on Tuesday.
IndianOil’s refinery rate is considered a bellwether for fuel consumption as it is India’s largest oil refiner and fuel retailer with a capacity to process 1.6 million barrels a day of oil, or about a third of the country’s daily intake. Capacity utilisation had reached 88% in October.
A company statement said the refinery run rate has been helped by growth in demand for non-fuel and speciality products such as fuel oil, bitumen, pet coke and sulphur.
Consumption of petrol, diesel, ATF and LPG has been growing over the last few months as economic activity picked up on gradual removal of Covid restrictions. Diesel sales topped the pre-Covid level in October by clocking a 6% year-on-year growth. But demand fell 7% from the year-ago level in November, although sales were 8% higher than October.
Latest data on core industries in November last week showed refinery output declining 17% from a year ago in October and 16.4% in the April-October period as the economy shrank 7.5% in the third quarter after slumping nearly 24% in the previous three months.
But the festivities, even though muted, pushed petrol demand by 5% from a year ago in November as people preferred driving to their home towns, visit relatives or a holiday destination. Petrol consumption has been growing by about 4% for the last few months but became flat during the first fortnight.
Consumption of LPG, or household cooking fuel, increasing more than 4% in November on more home cooking — instead of eating out to celebrate — as families largely remained restricted to their homes. Consumption was down 2% from a year ago in the first fortnight.
Jet fuel sales were down more than 48% in November from a year ago, recovering plenty of ground since September but still remained 48% short of the pre-Covid level as the number of flights still remain curtailed. This shows sales recovered ground as they were 52.8% lower from a year ago in the first fortnight.
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