State-controlled refiner Indian Oil Co. Ltd. (IOCL) has increased its refinery run rates further as it expected demand to continue improving in June and July after the government relaxed some coronavirus-related restrictions. IOCL’s refinery runs stood at 83% as of June 10 and was on course to reach 90% this month.
IOCL operates nine refineries across India with a total capacity of around 1.3 million bpd. The company said it had restarted the 20,000 bpd Guwahati refinery in Assam after maintenance, and the refinery is currently running at a 78% rate. The state refiners have also increased production at its 850,000 tons/year naphtha cracker in Panipat at full capacity, along with downstream PP, HDPE, LLDPE, and EG units in Panipat.
IOCL also managed to maintain operation at its PX/PTA unit in Panipat and linear alkylbenzene unit at Koyali during the lockdown. The 700,000 tons/year PP plant in Paradip has also come online.
