India: Refineries cut pet coke prices for May’25; RIL skips pricing for 2nd straight month

• Nayara’s prices reduced by a sharp INR 1,070/t m-o-m
• IOCL trims prices by INR 1,000/t across all refineries

Indian refiners sharply reduced pet coke prices for May 2025 following weak demand and ample availability. However, for the second consecutive month, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) refrained from announcing prices amid continued diversion to internal gasification units.

RIL
RIL did not declare pet coke prices in May. The company continues to divert its entire pet coke production to gasification units. Due to insufficient internal output, RIL has also been importing pet coke and sourcing material from IOCL’s Koyali Refinery by rake to maintain operations. Consequently, RIL has no surplus to offer in the merchant market and has suspended price announcements.

Nayara Energy
Nayara’s ex-refinery pet coke prices stood at INR 13,860/tonne (t) in May, down by a significant INR 1,070/t from INR 14,930/t last month. The price is 2% higher than the INR 13,592/t in May 2024. Nayara remains the largest supplier from a single refinery, capitalising on RIL’s market absence.

MRPL
MRPL slashed road-supply prices by INR 1,240/t m-o-m to INR 10,430/t, while rake/barge supply rates were cut to INR 10,130/t. The INR 300/t gap accounts for the difference in transport costs. This marks a 3% y-o-y decrease from INR 10,750/t in May 2024.

BPCL
Bina Refinery: Prices saw a nominal cut of INR 8/t m-o-m to INR 15,142/t for rail supplies. Road supplies remained cheaper by INR 50/t.
Kochi Refinery: Prices dropped sharply by INR 932/t to INR 11,868/t for rail. Road dispatch is unavailable.

CPCL
CPCL reduced its ex-refinery pet coke prices by INR 630/t m-o-m to INR 13,940/t for May, compared to INR 14,570/t in April. Unlike Nayara’s sharper reduction, CPCL’s pricing reflects a more cautious revision. The refinery dispatches 40,000-45,000 t per month entirely by road, with no rake loading facility, catering mainly to buyers in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)
IOCL implemented a uniform reduction of INR 1,000/t m-o-m in pet coke prices across all its refineries for May 2025, reflecting softening demand and increased availability in the domestic market.

At the Koyali Refinery, revised pet coke prices stood at INR 11,960/t for road dispatches and INR 11,760/t for rake supplies, maintaining a price gap of INR 200/t between the two modes.

The Panipat Refinery continued to price its pet coke uniformly at INR 12,900/t, with no distinction between dispatches to general states and exports.

From the Paradip Refinery, road-supply pet coke was priced at INR 11,190/t, while rake-based supply was available at INR 10,990/t, reflecting the standard INR 200/t discount for rake movement.

At Haldia, pet coke was priced at INR 11,360/t for road transport and INR 11,160/t for rake, reflecting consistency in pricing strategies.

Export pricing was also revised in tandem:

• At Panipat, export rates remained aligned with domestic prices at INR 12,900/t.

• At Paradip, export prices were at INR 12,490/t, marking a premium of INR 1,500/t over domestic rake tags.

• At Haldia, export prices were at INR 12,360/t, which was INR 1,200/t higher than domestic rake-supply prices.

Overall, IOCL continued to follow a consistent strategy with rake-dispatch rates INR 200/t lower than road-supply prices at Koyali, Paradip, and Haldia refineries.