Domestic refineries reduce pet coke prices for April’24
USA pet coke prices down 39% in FY24
India’s imports of pet coke surged by 18% y-o-y to reach 12.8 million tonnes (mnt) in FY’24, compared to 10.8 mnt in FY’23, as per BigMint data.
USA import prices have dropped on a yearly basis to $124/t in FY24, west coast of India, down sharply against $202/t, west coast of India in FY’23.
Recent trades:
- A pet coke cargo sold from Russia of sulphur less than 3% to turkey at $120 CIF.
- A deal is heard for Kazakhstan pet coke to Jordan at 115/t levels CIF, sulphur less than 3%
- A pet coke vessel has been booked from Oman at 114/t, CIF east coast of India.
Imports from USA up 42% in FY’24
India recorded highest imports of pet coke from the US in FY24 at 6.79 mnt, up 41% as compared with 4.81 mnt in FY23. Imports from Saudi Arabia dropped by 23% m-o-m to 2.69 mnt in FY24 as against 3.51 mnt in FY23. Imports from Venezuela were at 0.92 mnt, up 20% y-o-y. Imports from Oman rose significantly to 0.77 mnt as compared with 0.20 mnt in Oman.
Company-wise imports
Ultratech cement recorded the highest imports at 2.35 mnt in FY24, almost stable y-o-y. The company has recently announced the initiation of two new greenfield projects through an exchange filing, adding a combined capacity of 5.4 MTPA. These projects, located in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, will elevate the company’s total capacity to 151.6 MTPA. Notably, over the past year, the company has bolstered its capacity by 18.7 MTPA. Additionally, UltraTech is finalising the acquisition of Kesoram Cement, further augmenting its grey-cement capacity to 198.2 MTPA.
Moreover, according to company disclosures, ACC-Ambuja Cement is poised to contribute an additional 11.6 MTPA of capacity in FY25.
Shri Cement recorded the second-highest imports at 2.32 mnt, up by 81% on yearly basis. JK cement imports recorded significant rise for the month at 0.84 mnt.
Indian pet coke imports up 26% in March’24
Imports on a monthly basis have picked up to 1.8 mnt in March, 2024 as compared with 1.4 mnt in February, 2024.
Current, prices of US pet coke are assessed at $112-114/t, CIF Kandla, slightly dropped as against $114-115/t CIF Kandla assessed in March, 2024. Shri cement recorded highest imports at 0.6 mnt followed by Ultratech at 0.16 mnt in March, 2024.
Indian imports from the US recorded highest to about 1 mnt in March, 2024 followed by Venezuela at 0.31 mnt and Saudi Arabia at 0.16 mnt.
Pet coke prices
RIL has reduced pet coke prices to INR 13,029/t, down INR 208/t m-o-m. The current month price is lower by same month last year’s price by around 21%. RIL releases very limited quantity of pet coke in market as they utilise major portion of it in their gasification unit.
MRPL reduced its pet coke prices by INR 460/t for April, 2024 shipments. Prices for road supply are at INR 9,950/t and for rail supply are at INR 9,650/t. Additionally, MRPL offers a discount of INR 400/t for quarterly volume commitment of 10,000 t and an additional discount of INR 100/t for 40,000 t annual commitmen
Port-wise imports in FY24
Kandla recorded the highest level of imports at 2.62 mnt in FY24 compared with 2.70 mnt in FY23. Mundra recorded imports at 1.82 mnt, up 71% on a yearly basis. Vizag imported a total of 1.61 mnt in FY24.
Outlook
Pet coke imports in near future are expected to pick up on anticipated demand and consistent price fall. However, rain in parts of the country can put pressure on import volumes temporarily.