- Production falls amid crude sourcing, logistics disruptions
- Consumption declines 4% y-o-y as monsoon demand slows
India’s petcoke production declined 4.3% y-o-y to 1.18 mnt in July 2026 from 1.23 mnt a year earlier, while consumption fell 3.6% to 1.66 mnt from 1.72 mnt. Cumulative production during April-July declined 11.5% y-o-y to 4.23 mnt, while consumption stood at 5.45 mnt. Refinery product-mix optimisation, crude logistics disruptions and weaker monsoon-linked demand continued to weigh on the market, keeping imports important to bridge the domestic supply gap.
Production remains below year-ago levels
Domestic petcoke production stood at 1.18 mnt in July, down from 1.23 mnt in July 2025. Cumulative production during April-July 2026 stood at 4.23 mnt, compared with 4.77 mnt in the corresponding period of FY 2025-26, a decline of 11.5%.
The production decline continued to reflect refinery product-mix decisions. Petcoke is a by-product of the refining process, and refiners can optimise delayed coking units towards higher-value products such as diesel, petrol, aviation turbine fuel and gas depending on refinery margins and operating conditions.
Crude sourcing and logistics disruptions following the US-Iran conflict, which began in late March, also affected refinery operations. Although an MOU was subsequently signed between the two countries, continued violations created uncertainty around crude movement and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, increasing logistics risks and costs.
Petcoke accounted for around 4.6% of total petroleum product production during April-July, based on the reported 4.23 mnt of petcoke production against 91.83 mnt of total petroleum products.
Consumption declines during monsoon
India’s petcoke consumption declined 3.6% y-o-y to 1.66 mnt in July from 1.72 mnt. Cumulative consumption during April-July stood at 5.45 mnt.
The decline was mainly linked to seasonal weakness during the monsoon, when cement and infrastructure activity typically slows. Cement remains the largest consumer of petcoke, with consumption also influenced by the relative economics of high-CV coal and petcoke.
Higher petcoke costs in recent months also encouraged some consumers, particularly cement producers, to increase coal usage where technically and commercially viable.
Petcoke accounted for 8.3% of total petroleum product consumption in July, while its April-July share stood at around 7.0%.
Supply gap keeps imports important
Domestic production covered around 71% of July consumption, with the remaining requirement met through imports. For April-July, domestic production covered around 78% of consumption, indicating a higher level of domestic supply coverage than the July monthly ratio.
India remained structurally dependent on imported petcoke for applications including cement, lime kilns, calcium carbide, gasification and aluminium. Cement producers continued to account for a major share of imports, with import economics influencing the balance between petcoke and coal consumption.
The government data also showed that FY’26 petcoke production stood at 14.77 mnt, compared with 14.96 mnt in FY’25, while consumption was 19.85 mnt against 22.0 mnt. This indicated that domestic production continued to fall short of overall consumption requirements.
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