IOC cuts refinery run-rate by one-fourth as fuel demand evaporate

With flights being suspended and vehicles staying off the road due to nationwide lockdown, India’s largest oil firm IOC on Wednesday said it is cutting down the run-rate of its refineries by at least one-fourth to keep fuel production in line with the demand. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), however, vowed to keep continue uninterrupted supplies of petrol and diesel for automobiles and cooking gas (LPG) for households.

In a statement, IOC said the demand for petroleum products like petrol, diesel, fuel oil and bitumen has reduced substantially in the aftermath of restrictions placed on movement to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The demand for ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) has also come down sharply due to the suspension of flights. “Keeping this in view, IOC has regulated crude oil throughput at most of its refineries by 25 per cent to 30 per cent,” it said.