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India’s crude imports shrink in August

PERFORMANCE INDIA’S crude oil imports shrank 23.4% year prices to fill the country’s three underground
on year in August to 15.15mn tonnes (3.58mn strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs).
barrels per day), according to government data Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural
published on September 21. Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on September
Indian fuel demand contracted 15.6% y/y in 21 that the government had saved $685.1mn by
August to 14.39mn tonnes as the coronavirus filling the SPRs in April and May.
(COVID-19) pandemic continued to weigh “Taking advantage of the low crude oil prices
heavily of the economy. in the international market, India purchased
Nevertheless, the situation has improved 16.71mn barrels of crude in April-May and
somewhat from July, with crude imports and filled all the three SPRs created at Visakhapat-
fuel exports both up from the previous month. nam, Mangalore and Padur,” Pradhan said in a
Crude deliveries climbed 9.9% from July’s written reply to a question in the Upper House.
13.79mn tonnes (3.26mn bpd), according to the The government paid an average of $19 per
Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). barrel, which the minister compared with the
Fuel exports slid 13.5% y/y in August to 4.59mn $60 per barrel the market was asking in January.
tonnes, but were up 17.1% from the 3.92mn The government roughly half-filled the
tonnes in July. 1.5mn tonne (11mn barrel) Mangalore and
Oil product imports climbed 1.5% y/y in 2.5mn tonne (18.33mn barrel) Padur facilities
August to 3.25mn tonnes, but slipped 18.77% with oil from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq.
from July’s 4.01mn tonnes. The 1.33mn tonne (9.75mn barrel) Visakhap-
Consultancy Energy Aspects has predicted atnam facility also received a small amount of
that fuel exports could rise further as Indian crude.
refiners begin to raise runs in response to a “bot- While state-owned Indian Strategic Petro-
toming out” of the market. leum Reserves Ltd’s (ISPRL) underground stor-
Although commercial imports have waned in ages can hold 11 days’ worth of imports based on
recent months owing to reduced domestic fuel August’s figures, India’s refiners were reportedly
demand, the government has revealed that it holding 65 days of imports at a time when deliv-
seized the opportunity to capitalise on depressed eries were around 4.5mn bpd.™

ONGC puts out fire at Gujurat

gas processing plant

PROJECTS & INDIA’S state-run Oil and Natural Gas accident would begin once cooling opera-
COMPANIES Corp. (ONGC) has put out a fire at its natu- tions were completed.
ral gas processing plant in Gujurat State after “The activity of depressurising the pres-
the facility was rocked by three explosions. surised gas system [is] underway by ONGC
The company said the fire had been officials,” local news service ANI quoted Surat
extinguished in the early hours of Septem- Collector Dhaval Patel as saying. “Other plants
ber 24 and that no one had been injured by in the vicinity are operating as usual. I am told
the blaze. ONGC said three blasts at two that the ONGC plant will also become partially
terminals had started the fire, but did not operational in two to three hours.”
say what had trigged the explosions. Surat’s The newswire quoted an unnamed source as
top official said an investigation into the saying that the Hazira plant processes gas from

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 24•September•2020