RPT-UPDATE 1-Indian refiners' crude processing near record peaks in March

(Repeats story filed on April 21 without changes) By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Ananya Bajpai April 21 (Reuters) - Indian refiners' crude oil processing stayed near record peaks in March, provisional government data showed on Friday, catering to solid seasonal demand in the world's third biggest oil consumer. Refinery throughput gained 3% to 5.44 million barrels per day (23 million tonnes) year-on-year for March. Throughput stood at 5.46 million bpd (20.85 million tonnes) in February. Crude oil processed in tonnes, was the highest since Reuters records going back to 2009. Crude processed in million bpd terms, taking into account the fewer days in February, was also the highest since Reuters records going back to 2009.

In March, India's fuel consumption hit a record high.

"In March, we generally see seasonal high demand. Fuel demand is rising with heightened industrial activity and also as it is harvesting season," said Prashant Vasisht, vice president and co-head, corporate ratings at ICRA.

"Demand might slow when monsoons hit India, but overall we still project increased fuel demand for the year as the Indian economy is expected to record good growth." Natural gas output was up 2.4% to 2.96 billion cubic metres year on year, while crude oil production fell 2.9% to 2.45 million tonnes, the data showed. Preliminary sales data showed Indian state refiners posted an 8.4% rise in sales of gasoil to 3.45 million tonnes in the first half of April compared with the same period last month, indicating higher demand from the agriculture sector and a recovery in industrial activity.

India has been stocking up on discounted Russian crude oil. Western nations have imposed a $60 a barrel price cap for anyone buying Russian oil as part of sanctions against Moscow. However, India and China have paid prices above the cap, according to traders and Reuters calculations. Following are details of refinery throughput and crude oil output:

REFINERY PRODUCTION IN TERMS OF CRUDE THROUGHPUT (in '000 tonnes):

March-2023 Plan IOC, Barauni 588 IOC, Gujarat 1,278 IOC, Haldia 729 IOC, Mathura 790 IOC, Digboi 58 IOC, Panipat 1,341 IOC, Bongaigaon 234 IOC, Paradip 1,360 BPCL, Mumbai 1,260 BPCL, Kochi 1,380 BORL, Bina 695 HPCL, Mumbai 771 HPCL, Visakh 975 CPCL, Manali 930 NRL, Numaligarh 160 MRPL, Mangalore 1,475 ONGC, Tatipaka 4 HMEL, Bhatinda 970 RIL, Jamnagar 3,056 RIL, SEZ 2,074 Nayara, Vadinar 1,690 TOTAL 21,833 March-2023 March-2022 April 2022-March April 2021-March 2023 2022 Actual Actual Actual Actual
IOC, Guwahati 15 97 93 1,080 730 580 596 6,785 5,620 1,346 1,338 15,567 13,474 743 747 8,506 7,305 898 884 9,573 9,123 59 61 713 708 1,298 1,285 13,810 14,849 258 248 2,775 2,639 1,418 1,383 13,598 13,217 1,358 1,269 14,546 14,437 1,542 1,522 16,017 15,402 736 704 7,842 7,410 874 711 9,804 5,558 874 825 9,287 8,410 1,034 1,062 11,316 9,040 205 188 3,091 2,624 1,502 1,504 17,116 14,871 5 6 73 75 1,110 1,092 12,735 13,027 2,822 3,056 34,433 34,757 2,538 2,073 27,872 28,264 1,707 1,690 18,692 20,164 23,004 22,337 2,55,233 2,41,703

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
IOC: Indian Oil Corp BPCL: Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd HPCL: Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd CPCL: Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd MRPL: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd Reliance Industries Ltd Please note that CPCL's CBR refinery is de-commissioned under shutdown due to limitation in meeting required product specifications with the existing configuration.

CRUDE OUTPUT ('000 tonnes):

March-2023 March-2023 March-2022 Plan Actual Actual
ONGC
Andhra Pradesh 17 17 15 Assam ^ 102 89 86 Gujarat 427 381 385 Tamil Nadu 21 18 23
Offshore # 1,247 1,151 1,173
OIL
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh & 308 276 257 Rajasthan (heavy oil)

Private Operators 784 522 587 Total 2,907 2,454 2,526

Total may not tally because some numbers have been rounded.
ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd OIL: Oil India Ltd ^Includes oil output of Tripura #Includes oil output from Mumbai High (Reporting by Ananya Bajpai and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)

Reuters

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