Petcoke users as well as producers in India seem to have had a sigh of relief, with the cloud of uncertainty over the usage of the fuel somewhat started to fade away.
The cloud of uncertainty had gathered over the Petcoke users since the last two months, after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had announced a slew of measures for restricting usage of Petcoke to curb atmospheric pollution. Readers could refer to: NGT Orders Closure of Petcoke Using Units Without Permission for Usage for the details.
But, with the subsequent developments lately, there seems to be very less prospect of a strict restriction in the usage of the fuel in the future. Two pro user developments have surfaced recently, which subtly indicate so.
>> The Ministry of Environment, Forests, Environment and Climatic Change (MoEFCC) has clarified that Petcoke cannot be classified as a hazardous waste, but as a by-product of Crude Oil refining. At the same time, the Ministry acknowledged the polluting nature of the fuel, due to the release of Sulphur and Nitrous Oxide into the atmosphere while burning. To negate the polluting effect, industrial units were permitted by the Ministry to use Petcoke with anti-polluting mechanisms installed in the units.
>>The Rajasthan state government has decided not to ban usage of Petcoke in the state. The decision was taken after examining the NGT order and consulting the Pollution Control Board of the state. Allowing the Petcoke usage will benefit a number of industrial units in the state.
On the pricing front, international offers as well as domestic ex-works prices have remained unchanged in comparison with those in the last week.
The latest offer for Petcoke (6.5% Sulphur) from USA is assessed unchanged at around USD 86/MT CFR India; while, the recent offer for Petcoke (9% Sulphur) from Saudi Arabia is also assessed steady at around USD 83/MT CFR India.
Source: CoalMint Research
Likewise, the domestic ex-works prices are also unmoved. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the largest Petcoke producer in the country, has quoted its ex-works price at INR 7,000/MT. Essar, the second largest producer in India, has set its ex-works price at INR 6,990/MT. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has quoted its ex-works price at INR 6,610/MT.
Source: CoalMint Research
However, there is a chance of RIL lowering its ex-works price with the onset of Aug’17 as availability has increased substantially. Supplies from the company’s Jamnagar refinery were cut-off in the recent past due to flood that had resulted in building up a huge stockpile at the refinery. In view of this, RIL is likely to dispose- off the accumulated stock by lowering the price. Since, RIL’s prices are also the benchmark Petcoke prices in India, other refineries are also expected to follow suit, if RIL revises its ex-works price downwards.
IMPORTS
Full-fledged Petcoke imports are going on in India as demand is strong due to cement plants running at high rates. During the 1-28 July’17 period, around 0.93 MnT of Petcoke was imported in India, according to data compiled by CoalMint Research.
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