New Delhi: With flights being suspended and vehicles staying off the road due to nationwide lockdown, India’s largest oil firm Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said Wednesday said it is cutting down the production rate of its refineries by at least one-fourth to keep fuel production in line with the demand.
IOC, however, vowed to keep continue uninterrupted supplies of petrol and diesel for automobiles and cooking gas (LPG) for households.
In a statement, IOC said the demand for petroleum products like petrol, diesel, fuel oil and bitumen has reduced substantially in the aftermath of restrictions placed on movement to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The demand for ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) has also come down sharply due to the suspension of flights.
“Keeping this in view, IOC has regulated crude oil throughput at most of its refineries by 25 per cent to 30 per cent,” the IOC said in a statement.
“Upliftment of finished products from them in the last one week has helped upcountry bulk storage locations of the corporation build up their stocks for future-readiness once the countrywide lockdown is lifted and the demand picks up again,” the company added.
IOC said it is keeping a close watch on global cues and the changing market scenario and initiating actions accordingly.
“In the midst of a reduction in demand for major petro products, there has been an increase in demand for LPG cooking gas. To meet the rising demand for LPG, IOC is taking steps to increase LPG production in its major refineries by optimising operations, improving LPG yield in LPG producing units like FCC/Indmax, etc,” it said. Bottling plant operations and LPG refill deliveries are being streamlined accordingly,” it added.
“Adequate stocks are available and there is no need for panic-booking by LPG customers,” the company which controls roughly half of the Indian fuel market, asserted.
PTI