Indian Refiners' March Crude Oil Runs Up 6.4% Year-on-Year

According to Reuters, real-time government data showed that crude oil processing by Indian refiners rose 6.4% in March from a year earlier to 5.28 million barrels per day (22.34 million tons), matching consumption in the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer. Growth is consistent.

India's fuel demand hit its highest level in three years in March as the market built up supplies in anticipation of a sharp rise in prices, while the easing of virus-related control measures spurred demand.

Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq said as demand increased, refiners had to increase production to meet demand.

However, data showed that crude oil production fell by more than 3% to about 598,000 barrels per day (2.53 million tons).

This was mainly due to delays in the mobilization of the Sagar Samrat mobile offshore production unit in the Mumbai Heights, which led to a 12.6% drop in the oil and gas company's production this month and a 1.84% decline from March 2021, the release said.

Crude oil imports edged up to 4.4 million barrels per day in March from a year earlier, tanker tracking data showed.