Data from India’s oil ministry showed domestic refineries processed 4.33 million bpd of crude in September, lower than 4.74 million bpd a year earlier, and the targeted 5.07 million bpd. This represents an 8.6% year-on-year decline, smaller than a 27% year-on-year decline in August when refinery runs stood at 3.8 million bpd. The decline is also attributed to the shutdown at Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery complex in September. Domestic crude throughput is expected to rise further this month, driven by a recovery in diesel demand.
According to oil ministry data, India’ ’s state-owned refineries processed 2.74 million bpd of crude oil last month, higher than 2.4 million bpd in August but lower than 2.91 million bpd in the same month last year. Lower utilization at IOCL’s 300,000 bpd Paradip refinery contributed to a constraint in September state refinery runs. IOCL aims at increasing the rate to full capacity by next year. On the other hand, private refiners cut their throughput to 1.6 million bpd in September, from 1.4 million bpd in August and 1.83 million bpd a year ago.
