IOC lifts crude throughputs, production across Indian refining system

May 13, 2020
Indian Oil Corp. has restarted several processing units at its refineries as demand for finished petroleum products gradually continues to increase in the wake of India’s countrywide lockdown instituted in March to curb the outbreak of coronavirus.

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. has restarted several processing units at its refineries as demand for finished petroleum products gradually continues to increase in the wake of India’s countrywide lockdown instituted in March to curb the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).

With crude oil throughputs across the refining system steadily rising, IOC’s refineries were operating at about 60% of their design capacities as of May 11, the operator said in a release.

While IOC disclosed no details regarding the specific units that have been restarted, the refineries at which the units are located, or current processing rates of individual refineries, the operator did confirm it plans to scale up operations across its refining system to 80% of design capacity by the end of May.

Announcement of IOC’s plan for its post-lockdown scenario follows the company’s late-March confirmation that it reduced crude throughputs at most of its refineries by 25-30% as the COVID-19 crisis eroded product demand across the country (OGJ Online, Mar. 26, 2020).

While it has kept all of its refining units on hot standby in preparation to ramp up throughputs once product demand picks up, IOC confirmed the steep drop in domestic demand ultimately resulted in forcing the operator to reduce overall throughputs and operations at its refineries to 45% of their design capacities by the first week of April.

With an overall group refining capacity of more than 80.7 million tonnes/year—the largest share among domestic refining companies—IOC controls 11 of India’s 23 refineries directly and via subsidiaries to account for a 32.36% share of total national refining capacity.

Petrochemicals production

Alongside ramping up crude throughputs, IOC said as of May 11, it also had restarted the monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant and naphtha cracker—resuming production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene—at its Panipat refinery and petrochemical complex in Haryana, north of New Delhi. Restart of the naphtha cracker additionally will help the Panipat refinery further boost crude throughputs, according to the operator.

IOC said it also plans to restart the polypropylene plant at its Paradip refining complex in Odisha, on India's northeastern coast—as well as other unnamed polymer units at unidentified sites—by the end of May.