India’s total domestic sales of petroleum coke in FY21 (Apr’20-Mar’21) has shown a sizeable decline of 30.3% year-on-year (y-o-y).
However, there has been a growth in Mar’21 by 8.2% y-o-y on the back of increased sales volumes in states like West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
Comparisons of pet coke sales – FY21 vs FY20
| FY | Monthly Sales in March | Yearly Sales |
| 2020-21 | 665 | 10,270 |
| 2019-20 | 719 | 7,160 |
| % Change | 8.2% | -30.3% |
Source: Oil companies’ data | Figures in kilotonne (kt)
Notably, the above domestic sales data includes all types of petroleum coke, including both fuel grade and anode grade (LS) as well as calcined petroleum coke.
Generally, fuel grade petroleum coke, produced domestically by various oil companies, has high sulphur content ranging from 6% -8%. Anode grade petroleum coke has lower sulphur content ranging from 0.6%-2.5%, which is produced at select refineries of IndianOil (IOCL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL).
The above-mentioned domestic sales data is further analysed state-wise and year-wise (FY21 versus FY20) as follows:
| States | FY 2019-20 | FY 2020-21 | Change (%) |
| Rajasthan | 1,836 | 1,219 | -33.6 |
| Gujarat | 1,594 | 965 | -39.5 |
| Punjab | 1,249 | 784 | -37.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 822 | 587 | -28.6 |
| Tamil Nadu | 816 | 539 | -34.0 |
| Karnataka | 865 | 518 | -40.1 |
| Odisha | 356 | 408 | 14.4 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 541 | 402 | -25.7 |
| Chhattisgarh | 634 | 396 | -37.6 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 463 | 344 | -25.8 |
| Others | 1,098 | 1,001 | -8.9 |
| TOTAL | 10,275 | 7,162 | -30.3 |
It is noted that pet coke sales in Rajasthan continue to be the highest. It is mainly due to the concentration of cement factories owned by companies such as UltraTech, ACC Limited, Ambuja Cement, Shree Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement, Mangalam Cement, Wonder Cement etc, who are the major consumers of pet coke.
Nevertheless, the state of Rajasthan has registered a reduction of 33.6% in domestic pet coke sales during the past fiscal, while the maximum negative growth was seen at Karnataka by -40.1%.
Presently, however, Indian domestic demand for pet coke has been underpinned by resurgent demand from the cement industry due to increased infrastructural activities across the country.
But with the recent implementation of Covid-related lockdowns by various state governments, the country’s overall cement production may decrease, causing lower demand for pet coke in the near future.
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