India’s state-controlled refiner CPCL has started a scheduled maintenance at its 210,000 b/d Manali refinery in south India’s Tamil Nadu state today, market participants told Argus.
Works on the crude distillation unit (CDU) will take place over the next 24 days, ending 8 October, they added.
The shutdown is expected to affect oil product supplies to southern Indian states, which will have to rely on state-controlled refiner BPCL’s 311,000 b/d Kochi refinery, MRPL’s 300,000 b/d Mangalore refinery, and HPCL 301,000 b/d refinery in Vizag.
Indian refineries typically schedule maintenance during June-September, when demand for oil products wanes because of the monsoon season.
India’s transport fuel demand fell to 2.74mn b/d in August, down by 6pc on the month because of monsoon rains in most parts of the country. But edged up slightly by 2pc on the year, preliminary oil ministry data show.
Indian petroleum producer Hindustan Petroleum-Mittal Energy (HMEL) is also set to shut its 226,000 b/d refinery in Bhatinda in north India for 25 days starting from the first week of November.