Nayara wants to store surplus crude in strategic oil reserve, refined products in PSUs’ storage
NEW DELHI: Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy wants the government to let it store its surplus crude in the country’s half-empty strategic petroleum reserve and excess refined products in state refiners’ storage facilities as Coronavirus-led demand destruction forces refiners across the globe with difficult choices of cutting refinery run rate and find storage for unsold products.
Nayara Energy, which operates 20 million tonnes per year refinery in Gujarat, is facing a sharp demand slowdown. In the first fortnight of March, the combined demand for petrol, diesel, jet fuel and shipping fuel contracted 10% in the country. The demand has fallen off a cliff this week as the entire nation is in lockdown to fight the spread of coronavirus.
