In a recent statement issued by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), the country’s biggest oil company, the firm stated that they have bolstered their refinery run to 100 % of the capacity on account of reopening of the economy that has spurred a subsequent demand for fuel. In November, all refineries of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) functioned at 100 % of the capacity, a figure that was up from the previously registered number of 88.1% in October of last year and 98.6% during the same period in the previous year. A surge in demand for consumer goods stemming from the onset of the festival season has led to more diesel-powered trucks getting on the road to deliver a wide range of products that range from clothes to electronic goods such as air conditioners. The statement further said that the crude oil throughput of the firm’s refineries rose to cent % in November 2020 as the utilization of all petroleum derivatives and goods almost neared pre-COVID levels. IOC has 11 of the nation’s 23 refineries and holds a combined refining capacity of 80.7 mmtpa. The nationwide lockdown that had been put in place to check the spread and transmission of the coronavirus had resulted in refinery runs falling to almost half of their capacities immediately after. Additionally, the lockdown resulted in factories getting shut down and subsequently sent the majority of vehicles off-road, cutting down on fuel demand in the process. The sales of diesel, however, went 9% lower than what they registered in November 2019. Apart from petrol sales, Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) also recorded a growth of around 4% from October 2020, ending up at 233,000 tonne. Along with the growth in consumption of white oils such as ATF, petrol, and diesel, a concomitant improvement was also witnessed in demand for black oils and related specialty products such as bitumen, sulfur, fuel oil, and pet coke added to the statement. Image Source