Petrol NEWS

Petrol and diesel demand had fallen month-on-month in July. Whilepetrol consumption is almost flat in the first half of August, diesel - the most widely used fuel in the country - saw demand drop 11.2 per cent during August 1-15 to 2.82 million tonnes from 3.17 million tonnes in the same period of the previous month.

Analysts noted that OMCs have been losing money on the sale of petrol, diesel, and LPG. They believe the excise cuts should give OMCs a headroom to hike fuel prices and partially recover their under-recoveries. The freeze in fuel prices in the March quarter, despite escalating global oil prices, most likely owing to state elections, led to steep under-recoveries for oil marketing companies (OMCs), said Nomura India.

Petrol, Diesel price today, May 21: If you are a consumer of petrol in Delhi, you will be paying Rs 105.41 per litre, while consumers of diesel in the national capital will be paying Rs 96.67 per litre.

Petrol price in India crosses Rs 100 mark in early 2021 as the prices of both crude and products saw a big spike in the global market. In Sri Ganganagar town in Rajasthan, normal petrol price shot up over Rs 100 per litre to stand at Rs 100.49 a litre on the 2nd week of February 2021. The petrol and diesel prices have increased 22 times in 2021 with the two auto fuels increasing by Rs 6.17 and Rs 6.40 per litre respectively so far this year.

Jaipur: Saying that a "symbolic" reduction of Rs 5 and 10 per litre in the excise duty on petrol and diesel will not bring down inflation

As the festivals enter the door of India, demand for diesel rose by 6.6% and petrol by 4% in October. The increased transportation of goods during the season is the most crucial factor for the driven up demand. Refineries across the country have also started to gain pace as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, the nation's largest refiner saw a rise of 94% run from below 50% since April.

Data released by the Indian oil ministry (PPAC) reveals that the country’s fuel demand jumped by 3.3% in July, compared with the corresponding month last year. The consumption of fuel which is an established parameter for oil demand, computed to 17.58 million tonnes. While gasoline sale was 8.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.52 million tonnes, LPG sales improved 9% to 2.22 million tonnes.

Central Asian country, Turkmenistan, yesterday, unveiled the US$1.7 billion gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant. The largest GTL plant in Central Asia, it will process 1.785 billion cubic metres of natural gas every year, yielding 600,000 tonnes of gasoline a year among other liquid fuels. Built by Turkey's Rönesans and Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the GTL plant will help Turkmenistan monetize on the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves.

India has registered a record jump of 6.2% in Ethanol-blending in petrol, staying in line with the Government’s strategy to achieve 10% blending percentage of ethanol in petrol by 2022. The Modi government sanctioned Rs 1969 crore to fund 2G ethanol projects over the next six years. The measures seem to have lifted the purchase of the biofuel over the years.

If sources were to be believed, senior government functionaries have directed state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to keep the daily price movement of Diesel and Petrol in check until elections. To achieve this, a portion of the price hike in the international market will be absorbed by the country. The new move is believed to avert any resistance on the grounds of a frequent increase in fuel prices.

A PTI report has claimed that major revenue loss will make the addition of Petrol and Diesel into the GST regime less likely, citing disapproval from the central and state governments. Petro-products were excluded from the GST regime which came into force on July 1st, 2017. Currently, the highest VAT on petrol is levied in Mumbai, at 39.12%.

Increasing crude rates and weakening rupee against dollar are now providing the support for petrol and diesel prices in India to continue their 4-day streak of hike. Petrol and Diesel in the capital city, New Delhi were priced at ₹76.13 and ₹67.86 per litre. PPAC data shows that the crude oil basket of India averaged ₹ 73.85 in June; while the INR fell to ₹ 68.87 against the U.S. dollars.

The largest chemical producer in the world, BASF, has formed an alliance with the US Oil and Gas giant, ExxonMobil, to mutually develop new gas treating solvents and process technologies to be used in natural gas processing and petroleum refining. Through this new contract, BASF will market and license technologies developed from this association, along with FLEXSORB and OASE technologies.

The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Indian Oil Ministry has disclosed that the countrywide fuel consumption for the month of April totaled to 17.67 million tonnes. This indicates a rise in India’s fuel demand by 4.4%, and is owed to the surge in cooking gas (LPG) and auto fuel consumption. The data from the PPAC also showed an increase in Petrol, Diesel, ATF and other fuels.

IOCL Chairman Sanjiv Singh clarified to the reporters that the decision of oil PSUs not to hike petrol and diesel prices was aimed at stabilising the prices. He said, "We strongly believe this was unrealistic. So, we thought of stabilising that, tapering it down to a certain extent. Now incidentally it has coincided with some of the state elections. It was not the intention (of oil marketing companies)."