Petroleum (pet) coke sales from major Indian oil companies rose 18% y-o-y to 825,900 t in Apr’22, CoalMint data show. Sales by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) were the highest at 311,100 mnt, up 31% on the year.
The overall rise in April sales volumes indicates a strong recovery since the days of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
This includes all grades of pet coke namely non-calcined fuel grade consisting of high sulphur, anode grade pet coke with low sulphur and calcined pet coke (CPC).
*Quantity in tonne
(Source: Data compiled by oil companies)
Pet coke sales by BPCL and NRL registered strong growth last month with robust demand in the domestic market.
Pet coke sales by RIL, however, fell 21% y-o-y due to rising usage in its gasification units, which lowered the availability for domestic sales.
HMEL’s sales recorded a negative growth of 44% last month due to higher consumption in captive power plants and lower production, thereby releasing lesser pet coke for customers.
Notably, calcined pet coke sales produced by the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) rose 94% y-o-y amid elevated prices. Generally, the refinery uses raw petroleum coke of about 75-80% to produce CPC, while the rest is sold to calciners.
Percentage share of oil companies in April
It was observed that in April the highest market share in domestic sales of pet coke was retained by IOCL at 38% followed by Nayara Energy at 22%.
RIL’s share stood at 8%. Despite being the country’s largest pet coke producer, a sharp rise in its sales was capped last year as it released low volumes into the market due to maximum consumption at its own gasification unit.
State-wise sales
Rajasthan continued to retain the highest spot for domestic sales in April, rising 23% y-o-y to 200,000 t. This was mainly due to the concentration of various cement plants in the state owned by companies such as UltraTech, ACC, Ambuja Cement, etc., which are major consumers of pet coke, sourcing primarily from domestic producers.
This was followed by Gujarat, rising by 39% y-o-y to 100,000 t, CoalMint data show.
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