India’s petroleum coke consumption rose by 13% to 1.60 million tonnes (mnt) in December 2023 as against 1.42 mnt in the same period the previous year. However, consumption rose by 5% m-o-m in December 2023 as compared to 1.52 mnt in November 2023.
The country’s petroleum coke production in December 2023 was reported at 1.34 mnt, dropped marginally from the 1.36 mnt recorded in the same month of the previous year.
In the April- December 2023 period, India’s pet coke consumption reached 14.47 mnt, marking a 8% increase. Production during this period was assessed at 11.21 mnt, slightly lower than the 11.31 mnt in the corresponding period of the previous year.
For the fiscal year 2024 (FY’24), the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has initially allocated only 1 mnt of raw pet coke (RPC) due to ongoing court cases. The remaining allocation is expected to be determined after the resolution of these legal matters. DGFT is responsible for regulating imports of all grades of petroleum coke and setting limits on the overall import quantity of RPC.
Pet coke prices-
- BPCL has revised pet coke prices from its various refineries for January 2024 shipments. Current prices-
Bina: INR 14,661/t (for rail supply) and INR 14,611/t (for road supply), down INR 513/t.
Kochi: INR 12,076/t (for rail supply), down by INR 996/t. There is no road supply for pet coke from Kochi. The material availability at Kochi is estimated at around 75,000- 80,000 t.
- RIL has reduced pet coke prices by INR 374/t, to INR 13,172/t for January 2024 deliveries. The current month price is lower by same month last year price by around 23.9%. RIL releases very limited quantity of pet coke in market as they utilise major portion of it in their gasification unit.
- MRPL slashed its pet coke prices by INR 780/t for January 2024 shipments. Prices for road supply are at INR 10,610/t and for rail supply are at INR 10,310/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 commitment.
- Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) has slashed its pet coke prices for road supply for January 2024 by INR 1,090/t to INR 13,990/t. There is no rake loading facility by CPCL. The average dispatch of pet coke is 40,000-45,000 t per month. It may be noted here that CPCL majorly supplies to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Outlook
With the conclusion of the monsoon, the infrastructures activities have increased in which cement is the major requirement. These cement industries are the major consumers of pet coke, and hence the overall demand for pet coke is expected to increase in coming months.
