The oil ministry of India is in favor of the Supreme Court imposing a ban on imports of petroleum coke, as the country aims to curb imports of the polluting oil refinery by-product in a bid to reduce toxic emissions.
Late last year, the Indian Supreme Court had ordered a ban on the industrial use of pet coke in New Delhi and adjacent states of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh from 1 Nov’17, following the recommendation of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA).
After the court order, several industries that use pet coke had approached the SC seeking time to implement the ban. Cement companies, which consume about half of the country’s pet coke, had reportedly argued that all their sulfur is removed in the production process since pet coke is used in the kiln as a feedstock, hence it is not as polluting as using pet coke as a fuel by power plants.
Accordingly on 13 Dec’17, the top court eased the curbs at the end of last year, allowing cement makers to use pet coke. Subsequently, however, the import duty of the fuel was raised to 10% from 2.5%.
Earlier this month, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi had issued a notification barring the use of all pollution causing fuels, including pet coke, within the capital city and its bordering states.
Thus, apart from the nation’s apex court, the continued ambiguity over the issue relating to import and use of pet coke has been under “active consideration” by various authorities, namely the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
Meanwhile, import offers for pet coke stay at high rates, despite marginal price drops this week. The latest offers for pet coke (6.5% sulfur) from USA are assessed at around USD 115/MT CNF India, while offers for pet coke (9% sulfur) from Saudi Arabia are assessed at around USD 109/MT CNF India.
Source: CoalMint Research
Currently, Indian domestic prices of pet coke are INR 9,600/MT (Reliance Industries Ltd.) and INR 8,540/MT (Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.).
N.B.:
i. The above prices are effective 1 Jul’18.
ii. These prices are exclusive of GST @18%.
iii. The MRPL price is for pet coke transported by rake/barge.
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