Crude oil processing volumes remain steady in Feb at 20.9 MMT: PPAC

Crude imports fell 6.5 percent in February to 18.01 Million Metric Tonnes. says data released by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell

Crude oil volumes processed by Indian refiners remained steady in February at 20.9 million metric tonnes (MMT), data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) on Wednesday showed. Processed volumes rose by a marginal 0.14 per cent as compared to 20.8 MMT processed in February 2023. On a sequential basis however, volumes fell 7.48 per cent from January's 22.5 MMT.

Out of the total volume processed in February, government-owned oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) and joint ventures accounted for 14.3 MMT, while private refiners processed 6.5 MMT of crude oil.

In February, crude oil imports decreased by 6.5 per cent to 18.01 MMT, compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. On a sequential basis, imports fell 16.8 per cent.

According to estimates by London-based commodity data analytics provider Vortexa, which uses ship movements to gauge imports, Russia remained the single-largest supplier of crude oil for the 17th consecutive month as of February.

During the 11-months of the current financial year FY24, cumulative crude oil import volumes stood at 212.6 MMT, rising a marginal 0.38 per cent from the previous year's 211.8 MMT.

Meanwhile, domestic crude production witnessed an annual rise of 4.87 per cent, reaching 2.15 MMT in February. The production marked a sequential contraction of 6.9 per cent from the 2.31 MMT registered in January. Out of the 2.15 MMT produced, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) contributed 1.45 MMT, followed by Oil India Limited (OIL) at 0.26 MMT.

Export of refined petroleum products grew 14.1 per cent in February to 5.8 million MMT, up from 5.1 MMT in the year-ago month. However, the realized earnings remained the same at $4.1 billion owing to lower prices.

Exports in the April-February period also increased 4.2 per cent to 57.3 MMT, earning exports $43.3 billion, down from $52.2 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. In FY24, exports in the category have risen mainly due to rising shipments of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO).