Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp will continue to import gasoline for the next few months as its crude processing is hit due to lower demand for diesel that accounts for 40%-45% of its product slate, its head of marketing AK Singh said.
BPCL is operating refineries at an average of 80 per cent capacity, Singh told a press conference after a shareholders meeting. By design BPCL refineries make 2.5 tonnes of diesel for every 1 tonne of gasoline produced, he said.
“If diesel demand picks up we will not be required to import gasoline as then we will be processing more crude … diesel is restraining crude throughput … MS (motor spirit) is almost at pre-pandemic level. Diesel is lagging,” he said.
Asia’s gasoline refining margin surged to a 6-1/2 month high on Monday as supplies tightened, industry sources said. India’s recent spot demand also provided support to…