India’s 2021 oil product exports rise on robust cracks

India’s oil product exports edged up on the year in 2021, even as domestic demand rose, with product cracks widening on the back of an economic recovery in the Asia-Pacific region.Preliminary data from Vortexa show product shipments of 1.4mn b/d last year, compared with 1.3mn b/d in 2020.

Exports were 1.6mn b/d in December, up from 1.4mn b/d in November. India is a net exporter of oil products. Exports of clean petroleum products — including gasoil, gasoline, naphtha and jet fuel — were 1.33mn b/d in 2021, up from 1.26mn in 2020. Shipments rose in December to 1.56mn from the preceding month’s 1.36mn. Shipments of dirty products such as bitumen and fuel oil rose to 55,000 b/d in 2021 from 47,000 b/d in 2020, and to 25,000 b/d last month from 21,000 b/d in November.

The 92 Ron gasoline margin, or the Argus 92 Ron gasoline spot price against Ice Brent, averaged $7.56/bl in 2021 compared with $1.74/bl in 2020, in line with an increase in driving activity around the region. The Singapore gasoil swaps against Dubai crude averaged $9.12/bl, up from $6.81/bl in 2020. A sharp reduction in Chinese exports helped gasoil and gasoline margins.

The major share of India’s exports were of diesel and gasoil, which rose slightly to 595,000 b/d from 587,000 b/d in 2020. Shipments of 743,000 b/d in December were up from 595,000 b/d a month earlier. Finished gasoline exports rose to 257,000 b/d last year from 224,000 b/d in 2020, but fell in December to 268,000 b/d from 276,000 b/d a month earlier. Shipments of jet fuel were 99,000 b/d in 2021, up from 85,000 b/d in 2020, and rose last month to 163,000 b/d from 128,000 b/d in November.

Demand growth

India’s transport fuel demand was mixed for most of the first half of 2021, but slumped during a new lockdown imposed to curb the second wave of the Covid-19. Gasoline consumption recovered in the second half of last year after restrictions were eased, and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Jet fuel use held below 2019 levels even though demand rose on the month and on the year during the last six months.

Diesel demand was subdued, with a lower preference for public transport such as buses that use gasoil, but consumption started to recover on the month in the October-December period.

State-controlled refiners began to increase runs in the second half of 2021 to meet rising gasoline consumption and are now running at maximum or higher capacity on anticipation that demand growth will be robust in the coming months. State-owned refiners account for around 90pc of India’s fuel sales, and private sector firms are the major exporters.

Export by ports

Around 78 per cent of the oil products exported in 2021 were from ports close to private-sector refineries, the Vortexa data show. Sikka on India’s west coast, where Reliance Industries operates the 1.24mn b/d Jamnagar refinery complex, shipped 902,000 b/d, the most of any port last year. The second-largest quantity, around 178,000 b/d, was exported from Vadinar, where Russian-owned Nayara Energy operates a 400,000 b/d refinery. New Mangalore port, close to state-run MRPL’s 300,000 b/d refinery, shipped 95,000 b/d.

In December, 61 per cent [or 958,000 b/d] of oil products were exported from Sikka, and 13pc [199,000 b/d] were from Vadinar.

The top destination for exports in 2021 was Singapore, accounting for about 9.4pc of the total or 128,000 b/d. The UAE accounted for 8.3pc or 114,000 b/d, and the US imported 90,000 b/d or 6.6 per cent.

Australia was the top destination for the products exported in December, at 175,000 b/d or 12 per cent of the total. UAE and Singapore were the other two biggest importers, accounting for 9.1 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively.

Source: argusmedia