Total crude oil processed by domestic refiners in September was 8.8 per cent lower than the year-ago period. However, it grew 9.6 per cent over August to reach its highest level in this fiscal, according to data released by the Petroleum Ministry on Friday.
Domestic refiners cited high inventory levels and low demand for petroleum products due to Covid-19 as the key reason behind low processing levels. Domestic production of crude oil and natural gas also fell by 6.1 per cent and 10.7 per cent, respectively, from September 2019.
Domestic refiners processed 17,707 Thousand Metric Tonnes (TMT) of crude oil in September, down 8.8 per cent from September 2020, but higher than the total crude processing of 16,150 TMT in August.
