India: IndianOil revises pet coke prices across refineries

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), the country’s second-largest petroleum (pet) coke producer, has revised prices from its various refineries with effect from 18Nov’21.

• IOC’s revised price at Koyali refinery for road supplies is at INR 20,650/tonne (t) over its last month’s price of INR 19,850/t, an increase of INR 800/t.

• Price for rake loading has also been increased by INR 800/t to INR 20,450/t from INR 19,650/t in the last month.

• Pet coke price at Panipat refinery for general states has been revised to INR 21,560/t over last month’s price of INR 20,760/t, an increase of INR 800/t.

• The price for Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh has also been increased by INR 800/t and is the same as in the general states.

• Price at Paradip refinery for road supplies has been revised to INR 19,850/t over last month’s INR 19,050/t, an increase of INR 800/t.

• The price for rake supply has been revised to INR 19,650/t from INR 18,850/t, an increase of INR 800/t over last month’s price.

• Price ex-Haldia refinery for road supplies has been revised to INR 20,020/t over its last month’s price of INR 19,220/t, an increase of INR 800/t.

• The price applicable for rake supplies has also been increased by INR 800/t to INR 19,820/t from INR 19,020/t in the last month.

Price commentaries

Notably, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) increased its petroleum coke price with effect from 1 Nov’21 to INR 20,781/t ex-Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, over its last month’s price of INR 16,360/t, an increase of INR 4,421/t.

Notably, there have been continuous price upticks by RIL every month from Jun’20 onwards, resulting in total increase of INR 15,084/t, or almost 265%, in the past 17 months.

Besides, pet coke import prices have also substantially increased over the past month, while Indian demand has largely collapsed due to competitively priced thermal coals and exorbitant freight rates.

This consistent price rise of pet coke is mainly due to restricted availability in the international market. It is also supported by demand for pet coke by cement manufacturers for road construction and other infrastructural projects. Even though domestic production of pet coke has gradually increased, it is still lower than optimum levels.

Furthermore, lower availability of pet coke in the international market has pushed up prices. There is also a spurt in the prices of imported steam coal, which is primarily used as a substitute for pet coke by cement makers.