NEW DELHI: India’s gasoline exports in 2016 could reach 16.50 million mt, up around 3.8%, or 610,000 mt, from the previous year, amid an increase in domestic production, Platts data showed Tuesday.
Gasoline production is set to grow in 2016 due to the commissioning of Indian Oil Corp.’s 2.9 million mt/year continuous catalytic reformer at its greenfield 15 million mt/year (300,000 b/d) Paradip refinery, and completion of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.’s gasoline capacity expansion at its Kochi refinery by 6 million mt/year to 15.5 million mt/year (310,000 b/d) sometime in May, according to Platts reports.
Gasoline production at BPCL’s Kochi refinery is expected to reach 2.240 million mt/year around May 2016, up from the current 1.115 million mt/year, Platts has reported earlier. “If Paradip and Kochi meet their production targets, India could have an additional 1.9 million mt of gasoline available for export in 2016,” according to an analyst with Platts Oil Analytics.