REFINERY NEWS ROUNDUP: India’s gasoline use rises, falls elsewhere in Asia-Pacific
India’s consumption of gasoline in June saw the highest month-on-month increase in a year as a decline in COVID-19 cases and the easing of lockdown measures boosted driving activity.
Some states, such as the western state of Maharashtra, eased restrictions early June.
Indian gasoline demand totaled 2.41 million mt in June, up 21% from May, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed. In May, gasoline demand hit a one-year low.
However, a new wave of coronavirus infections in Indonesia has dented the demand outlook for Asian gasoline, with participants anticipating a further decline in import demand as driving activity slows. The country, moreover, has already expanded its strict lockdown measures, with Bali, Java and the heavily populated cities in Sumatra having been placed under a lockdown since early July.
REFINERY NEWS ROUNDUP: Mixed run rates in Asia-Pacific
The BPCL Mumbai refinery on the west coast of India is currently running at full capacity even as partial lockdown has been introduced in many parts of the western region. It recorded a 118% run rate in March compared with 116% a year ago, while the run rate for 2019-20 (April-March) was 95%, compared with 115% in 2019-20, reflecting the impact of lockdown in 2020.
However, India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. in March ran at 84% at its two refineries at the Jamnagar integrated refinery complex, down from 96% a year earlier, with overall runs still to attain pre-pandemic levels. In March, the domestic refinery ran at 101%, compared with 108% a year earlier, while the export-focused refinery ran at 69%, from 84% in the year-ago month.