Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC), the country’s second-largest producer of petroleum coke, has completed its second round of online auctions for RPC (raw petroleum coke) from various refineries, excepting Bongaigaon in Assam.
The auctions were conducted on 18th and 19th Oct’19 for intrastate consumers. The leftover quantities are scheduled to be auctioned on 21st and 22nd Oct’19 for outside state consumers.
Details of the auctions are enumerated below:
| Refinery | Reserve Price
(INR/MT) |
Quantity Offered Within State
(MT) |
Quantity Sold
(MT) |
Quantity Offered Outside State
(MT) |
Date of Auction for Outside State |
| Barauni Refinery, Bihar (Gr.A) | 14,700/- | 17,690 | 0 | 17,690 | 23rd Oct’19 |
| Barauni Refinery, Bihar (Gr.B) | 14,200/- | 6,600 | 0 | 6,600 | 23rd Oct’19 |
| Guwahati Refinery, Assam (Gr.A) | 14,530/- | 8,500 | 0 | 8,500 | 22nd Oct’19 |
| Digboi Refinery, Assam (Gr.A) | 13,470/- | 9,400 | 0 | 9,400 | 22nd Oct’19 |
| Koyali Refinery, Gujarat (Gr.B) | 12,560/- | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 | 23rd Oct’19 |
| TOTAL | 87,190 | 0 | 87,190 |
As the offered quantities remained unsold at all of the refineries, the entire quantity has been put on auction for outside state consumers scheduled on 22nd and 23rd Oct’19.
The delivery period for these outside state e-auction quantities will be from 23rd/24th Oct’19 to 6th/7th Dec’19.
Refinery-wise price reductions as compared to previous auctions are as follows:
| Refinery | Current Reserve Prices
(INR/MT) |
Previous Reserve Prices
(INR/MT) |
Change |
| Barauni Refinery (Gr.A) | 14,700 | 15,110 | -2.71% |
| Barauni Refinery (Gr.B) | 14,200 | ||
| Guwahati Refinery (Gr.A) | 14,530 | 19,610 | -25.91% |
| Digboi Refinery (Gr.A) | 13,470 | 13,890 | -3.02% |
| Koyali Refinery (Gr.B) | 12,560 | 14,490 | -13.32% |
In all probability, this has been by far the most disappointing response received in any IndianOil pet coke auction for the past several months, wherein absolutely no stock was sold from any of the refineries.
It is pertinent to mention here that the last auctions at Guwahati and Koyali refineries had also witnessed similar results — no bid was received in either of the two refineries.
Notably, IndianOil had conducted an exclusive e-auction for Guwahati on 10th Oct’19 for intrastate consumers and then on 12th Oct’19 for outside state consumers, but no quantity was sold out in both the auctions.
Similarly, IndianOil’s auction for Koyali refinery was conducted on 11th Sep’19 for intrastate consumers and on 14th Sep’19 for outside state consumers, but no bid was received in both the auctions.
Market participants have attributed the reason for such poor response to the staggeringly low prices for calcined petroleum coke (CPC) prevailing in the market.
The current level of offer prices for RPC does not make buying attractive for the local calciners for producing CPC, even after the hefty price reductions offered by IndianOil in these ongoing auctions.
Nevertheless, market sources suggest that a comparatively better response maybe expected for Bongaigaon relative to the other refineries.
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