Page 7 - AsianOil Week 50 2020
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AsianOil SOUTH ASIA AsianOil
Indian refiners raise run rates
PERFORMANCE THREE of India’s state-run refiners are either first quarter of 2021. MRPL will expand runs
operating at close to full capacity or higher amid from 1mn tonnes (244,000 barrels per day) of
a surge in domestic demand for gasoline and liq- crude in November to 1.3mn tonnes (307,000
uid petroleum gas (LPG). bpd) this month, the executive said. He added
Leading refiner Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) that runs would climb again to 1.4mn (348,000
– alongside Mangalore Refinery and Petro- bpd) tonnes in January and February.
chemicals Ltd (MRPL), Hindustan Petroleum HPCL chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana,
Corporation Ltd (HPCL) – have all raised their meanwhile, attributed the surge in demand to
run rates in response to the uptick, Bloomberg strong automobile sales and expanding indus-
reported on December 17. trial and construction activity, noting that gaso-
Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) raised its through- line sales were expected to continue growing by
put to 100% of designed capacity in November, about 5%.
chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said in a Passenger vehicle sales climbed 12.73% year
statement, noting that this was up from the 88% on year in November to 285,367 units, according
rate recorded in October. While overall petro- to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
leum product consumption had almost fully (SIAM) data published last week.
returned to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) levels IOC is upbeat about the future, noting that
in November, gasoline and LPG sales are under- the rollout of a vaccine should help boost eco-
stood to have actually expanded year on year. nomic recovery and oil demand. Vaidya said: “As
MRPL’s managing director M Venkatesh told we get closer to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,
the newswire that the recovery in gasoline and the fundamentals of the economy being strong,
LPG demand would help boost the company’s we see a rapid V-shaped recovery in the overall
refinery runs beyond nameplate capacity in the consumption of petroleum products.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Indonesian driller APEX to
focus on domestic work
PROJECTS & INDONESIAN upstream service provider seek out oil and gas contracts overseas in the
COMPANIES Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk (APEX) has near future, citing depressed oil prices as creating
revealed that it will focus solely on domestic industry uncertainty.
projects next year amid ongoing uncertainty in APEX has several oil and gas service con-
the global upstream sector. tracts, including at the giant Mahakam block,
APEX’s corporate secretary, Frieda Salvatina, which is operated by state-owned Pertamina.
said on December 10 that in addition to various The company said its Maera Rig would
domestic oil and gas contracts the company resume operations at the block from the sec-
would also bid for drilling work in the geother- ond quarter of 2021, after its previous contract
mal space. expired in May. The company added that the
Company director Mahar Atanta Sembiring, contract for its Raisis rig at the block had been
meanwhile, said the company had no plans to extended from January 2021 and until May
Week 50 17•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7
