HPCL's Q2 net drops 35% to Rs 1,919 cr, GRM halves to $2.44 a barrel

The GRM was impacted by the higher fuel and loss component in view of shutdown, restarting and stabilisation activities at both HPCL refineries

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) reported a Rs 1,918.89 crore consolidated net profit for the second quarter of financial year 2021-22. The public sector undertaking (PSU) had reported a consolidated profit at Rs 2,975.83 crore during the same period a year ago.

The company's consolidated total income during the period under review stood at Rs 88,085.42 crore, up from Rs 62,439.86 crore in the comparable months.

The combined gross refining margin (GRM), or the gain per barrel of crude oil processed, for the period July-September 2021 stood at $2.44 a barrel as compared to $5.11 per barrel in the year-ago period.

“The GRM, though helped by better product cracks, was impacted by the higher fuel and loss component in view of shutdown, restarting and stabilisation activities at both the refineries. GRM was also impacted due to higher crude cost,” an HPCL statement said.

“HPCL's Mumbai Refinery completed one of the most complex revamps and hook-up jobs as a part of the Mumbai Refinery Expansion Project this quarter, for which the facility had been shut down since April. Mumbai Refinery Expansion Project jobs are completed. Major units have been commissioned and are in the advanced stage of stabilization,” the statement added.

According to HPCL Chief M K Surana, the Mumbai Refinery revamp would be completed this month itself.

“This will increase throughput capacity at Mumbai Refinery from 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to 9.5 MMTPA with enhanced energy efficiency. The CDU-III unit of the Visakhapatnam refinery, which had a fire incident in May, was restarted after completing necessary inspection and repair activities,” HPCL said.

“The Visakhapatnam Refinery is now operating at full capacity,” the company added.