June 1, 2023: Petroleum Products: Product-Wise Consumption In April 2023. Click column Special Database for details.

---

May 31, 2023: Officially released figures for April 2023 show a drop in import of petroleum products which is understandable if Indian refineries processed larger quantities of price discounted Russian crude, but export too dropped though recovered from the level in April 2022. Click column Special Database for details.

---

May 30, 2023: OPEC countries continue to be the single largest source for India’s crude oil import but its share which rarely dipped below 60 per cent crashed to an incredible low in April. This is at a time when India’s petroleum products consumption has been rising. India’s domestic crude production has not gone up either. What could be the reason for this crash? Click column Special Database for details.

---

May 25, 2023 | Petro Retailing: Private Players Fumble With Strategic Options | Recently, there was a buzz of excitement over a news report that Jio-bp, the joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd and British Petroleum (bp), was ready to shake up the retailing segment by selling premium diesel at a price that would be Re 1 per litre lower than that charged at public sector outlets. Competition might be too strong a word to characterise this situation but the move has a symbolic significance that cannot be ignored. Market circles have confirmed the development but it has not triggered any tremor - as yet. One reason for this is that the difference in price is too small to create a major impact. Is Jio-bp testing the waters? These private players have suffered financial losses periodically as they are not in a position to raise retail prices every time that crude oil prices lurch upwards. Since April 2022, the PSUs have not revised the retail prices of petroleum products such as petrol and diesel. The private retailers simply cannot survive by raising prices alone. Click Free Access column Petro Intelligence to read a comprehensive piece on the subject.