(Reuters) -Indian refiners’ crude oil processing remained near record levels in February, provisional government data showed on Wednesday, catering to rising demand in the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer.
Refinery throughput was 2% higher year-on-year at 5.46 million barrels per day (20.85 million tonnes) for February. Throughput stood at 5.39 million barrels per day (22.80 million tonnes)in January.
Crude oil processed in million barrels per day (bpd) terms, taking into account the fewer days in February, was the highest since Reuters records going back to 2009.
India’s fuel demand hit its highest level in at least 24 years in February, with industrial activity in Asia’s third biggest economy boosted by cheap Russian oil.
In February, Russia tightened its grip on India’s oil market, while sending the share of African crude oil in India’s total crude imports to its lowest level in at least 22 years.
Meanwhile, India’s Bank of Baroda stopped clearing payments for Russian oil sold above the price cap set by the West from this month, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a move that could expedite transition to a rupee trade mechanism.
Natural gas output rose 1.9% to 2.65 billion cubic metres year on year, while crude oil production was down nearly 5% year on year at 2.16 million tonnes, the data showed.
India cut its windfall tax on crude oil to zero, a government notification said on Tuesday.
Following are details of refinery throughput and crude oil output:
REFINERY PRODUCTION IN TERMS OF CRUDE THROUGHPUT (in ‘000 tonnes):
Feb-2023 Feb-2023 Feb-2022 April 2022-Feb April 2021-Feb
2023 2022
Plan Actual Actual Actual Actual
IOC, Guwahati 67 86 82 983 637
IOC, Barauni 531 543 529 6,205 5,024
IOC, Gujarat 1,152 1,213 1,200 14,221 12,136
IOC, Haldia 502 665 630 7,764 6,559
IOC, Mathura 619 741 781 8,675 8,239
IOC, Digboi 45 57 50 654 647
IOC, Panipat 1,209 12,08 1,122 12,512 13,564
IOC, Bongaigaon 209 233 181 2,517 2,390
IOC, Paradip 1,228 1,192 1,211 12,180 11,834
BPCL, Mumbai 1,130 1,293 1,236 13,188 13,168
BPCL, Kochi 1,250 1,407 1,934 14,475 13,880
BORL, Bina 635 657 594 7,106 6,706
HPCL, Mumbai 696 804 748 8,930 4,847
HPCL, Visakh 728 746 761 8,413 7,585
CPCL, Manali 840 928 928 10,282 7,978
NRL, Numaligarh 177 244 234 2,886 2,436
MRPL, Mangalore 1,300 1,393 1,392 15,614 13,367
ONGC, Tatipaka 4 6 7 68 69
HMEL, Bhatinda 876 1,008 1,010 11,623 11,935
RIL, Jamnagar 2,777 2,576 2,777 31,611 31,702
RIL, SEZ 2,013 2,280 2,013 25,334 26,191
Nayara, Vadinar 1,563 1,568 1,563 16,985 18,474
TOTAL 19,551 20,848 20,443 2,32,229 2,19,366
Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
IOC: Indian Oil Corp
BPCL: Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd
HPCL: Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd
CPCL: Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd
MRPL: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd
Reliance Industries Ltd
Please note that CPCL’s CBR refinery is de-commissioned under shutdown due to limitation in meeting required product specifications with the existing configuration.
CRUDE OUTPUT (‘000 tonnes):
Feb-2023 Feb-2023 Feb-2022
Plan Actual Actual
ONGC
Andhra Pradesh 15 16 14
Assam ^ 91 78 77
Gujarat 385 346 341
Tamil Nadu 20 20 21
Offshore # 1,121 983 1,057
OIL
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh & 277 246 230
Rajasthan (heavy oil)
Private Operators 583 473 532
Total 2,490 2,162 2,273
Total may not tally because some numbers have been rounded.
ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd
OIL: Oil India Ltd
^Includes oil output of Tripura
#Includes oil output from Mumbai High
(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
