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Petroleum product exports from India have soared to the highest level in two and a half years as maintenance season in Europe is stoking demand for fuels from other sources.
Indian exports of fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, soared by 39% in September compared to a year earlier. At 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), India’s fuel exports have reached the highest level since March 2022, according to data from analytics firm Kpler cited by Bloomberg.
As refiners in Europe have entered seasonal maintenance or cutting back on crude processing amid poor refining margins, demand for fuel exported from India is soaring, especially in Africa, the data found.
Refining margins across Asia fell in the first week of September to their lowest level for this time of year since 2020, which could lead to more curbs on run rates at Asian refiners, including in China.
Refining margins in Europe are also under pressure, and reports have it that Repsol in Spain and Eni in Italy are considering cutting run rates.
Gasoline profit margins in Europe averaged $12.10 per barrel in August, a plunge of 61% compared to the same month in 2023, per LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Diesel margins are even weaker, with August profit margins down to their lowest since December 2021.
Amid a lower supply of fuels from Europe, India is stepping up to fill the gap.
“The open diesel arbitrage to Europe has been driven by lower supplies due to the region’s planned and unplanned refinery maintenance,” Serena Huang, head of APAC analysis at Vortexa, told Bloomberg.
India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, is boosting its refining capacity, which is set to reach 6 million bpd by the end of the decade. Most of the fuel produced in India is for domestic use, but some is exported by private refiners to meet requirements abroad.
