Indian refiners’ crude oil processing in September rose about 7.4% on the year, provisional government data showed.

Throughput was about 4.78 million barrels per day (bpd) (19.55 million tonnes) last month, higher than 4.62 million bpd reported in August, the data showed. It was also the eighth month in a row when throughput increased compared with the corresponding month in 2021.

“The end of the monsoon season in India is auguring in a new period of demand growth, one that we believe would already manifest itself strongly in October,” said Viktor Katona, co-head of crude analysis at Kpler.

Refineries saw capacity utilisation jump to 94.7% in September this year, compared with 88.9% in the previous year.

India’s top refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) IOC.NS, last month operated its directly-owned plants at 88.37% capacity, up from 81.31% in August, as per the data.

State-run IOC plans to shut half of its 300,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Panipat oil refinery for a month-long maintenance from around Oct. 26, according to sources.

Reliance, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, operated its plants at 82.48% capacity.

Meanwhile, India said it will examine a proposal by Western nations to impose a price cap on Russian oil purchases, even as some local refiners have lined up Russian cargoes for delivery post Dec. 5, when the cap is set to take effect.

“The most likely outcome will be Indian refiners clinching deals for discounted barrels, however refraining from joining the G7 initiative,” Katona said.

Natural gas output fell 1.7% to 2.85 billion cubic metres year-on-year, while crude oil production was also down year-on-year to 580,000 bpd, the data showed.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Kavya Guduru, Deep Vakil and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita Choy)