Indian refinery runs fall to four-month low in February

Oil

Indian crude oil refinery throughput declined by 280K b/d m-o-m to 4.88M b/d in February, falling to the lowest level since October 2020 after previously reaching an eleven-month high in January, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). This is also a decrease of 460K b/d y-o-y, as rising crude prices hampered processing amid limited domestic oil demand, Reuters report.

Crude imports also fell to a four-month low of 3.99M b/d, tumbling by 640K b/d m-o-m and 720K b/d y-o-y as India turned to its reserves in an attempt to wait out elevated oil prices. Total oil product exports increased by 80K b/d m-o-m to 1.12M b/d, with loadings of jet fuel jumping by 40K b/d m-o-m to 120K b/d, the highest since March 2020.