REFINERIES SECTOR - ECONOMY
News: Gujarat refineries form lion’s share of India’s surging fuel exports
What's in the news?
● Russia's
invasion of Ukraine has resulted in two significant developments, which have
subsequently sparked a surge in India's fuel exports.
● The
first is the increased import of cheaper crude from Russia.
● Second,
more countries are depending on India for their fuel needs.
Key takeaways:
● In
the last five years, the export of
petrol and high-speed diesel by public sector units in India to countries other
than Nepal and Bhutan almost doubled from 3,353 TMT to 6,376 TMT (thousand
metric tonnes).
● Petroleum
products were the most exported commodities from India to the Netherlands, China, Singapore, the U.K.,
the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa in FY23
(April 2022 to January 2023).
● The
Netherlands imported $8,890 million worth of petroleum products from India, the
highest by any country in that period. This was a 186% increase from the
country's imports five years ago.
Potential of Gujarat:
● Refineries
in Gujarat are at the centre of this sudden fuel export boom.
● The
State exported 74.9 lakh crore worth of
petroleum products in FY23.
● In
contrast, Karnataka, the second biggest exporter of the commodity, sent out
only 0.44lakh crore worth of petroleum oils, which is more than 10 times less
than Gujarat.
● Overall, Gujarat exported
77% of India's petroleum oils in FY23.
Moreover, the export of petroleum oils formed over 21.7% of Gujarat's GSDP in
FY23, the highest share among all the States.
● All
these factors have boosted Gujarat's share in India's exports. Gujarat's share
in India's exports increased from 20.8% between FY18 and FY21 to 30% in FY22
and no other state recorded such a jump.
Go back to basics:
● After the U.S. and China,
India is the world’s third-largest consumer of oil, over 85 percent of which is
imported.
● India,
the world’s third-biggest oil-importing and consuming nation, has long defended
purchases of crude oil from Russia following President Vladimir Putin ordering
the invasion of Ukraine.
● The
bulk of supplies come from the Middle East and the US.
● Imports
include oil which it converts to petroleum products after refining.
● India exports petroleum
products - accounting for more than 13% of its total exports - to more than 100
countries.
● India
has taken advantage of discounted prices to ramp up oil imports from Russia at
a time when global energy prices have been rising.
Present stats (February 2023):
India
imports oil from the country as follows (top to bottom).
● Russia
● Iraq
● Saudi
Arabia
● US
● Nigeria.