MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp, India's top refiner, has cut crude processing to average at 84% of overall capacity from 96% in April as a devastating second wave of COVID-19 dented fuel demand, reported Reuters with reference to the company's chairman statement.
Domestic sales of gasoil and gasoline by Indian state refiners plunged by a fifth in the first half of May from a month earlier, preliminary data showed on Monday, as lockdowns to curb COVID-19 cases hit industrial activities and consumption.
"Demand destruction is there, which has also reflected in refinery runs... When it (fuel demand) will return to normalcy is a very difficult question to answer," Chairman SM Vaidya said, pinning recovery hopes on the country's vaccination drive against the pandemic.
The company, along with subsidiary Chennai Petroleum, controls about a third of India's 5 million-barrels-per-day (bpd) refining capacity.
In May last year, the state-owned refiner was operating its plants at an average 67%, Vaidya said.
Still, a surge in crude prices boosted inventory gains and gross refined margins (GRMs) at IOC, helping it report a net profit of 87.81 billion Indian rupees (USD1.20 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, against a loss of 51.85 billion rupees a year ago. Analysts were expecting a profit of 55.06 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
As MRC informed before, Technip Energies has been recently awarded a significant Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for its BR9 Expansion Project in Barauni, Bihar, in the Eastern part of India. This EPCC contract covers the installation of a new Once-through Hydrocracker Unit (OHCU) of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity, a Fuel Gas Treatment Unit (FGTU) and the associated facilities.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
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