Nayara Energy, India's largest private fuel retailer, on Friday said its petroleum product exports dropped by 22 per cent in the first nine months of 2023 as domestic consumption rose.
Nayara, which operates a 20 million tonne a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and a network of over 6,450 petrol pumps, exported 4.57 million tonne of petroleum products including jet fuel, gasoil (diesel) and gasoline (petrol) between January-September 2023 as compared to 5.88 million tonne in January-September 2022, the firm said in a statement.
This was primarily because of larger consumption at home. The company is catering to the domestic market through institutional business, sales to other oil companies and through its own retail chain. Natural exports markets are in the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia - the markets which have a consistent appetite for Nayara's products throughout the year.
Commercially, it is unviable to cater to the seasonal requirements of EU markets (winter grade diesel). "Nayara's diesel does not meet the winter specification requirements of the EU market, we see no commercial opportunity in this market," it said. Domestic sales made up for 69 per cent of the volumes during January-September 2023 and exports the remaining 31 per cent.
Out of the total 4.57 million tonne exports, diesel shipments stood at about 2.44 million tonne which is roughly 53 per cent of all exports for the same period. The company said geographical proximity governs its exports markets. "Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East continue to remain the company's primary export markets contributing to about 82 per cent of the total exports of petroleum products."
Between January-September 2023, Nayara supplied no gasoil and gasoline to Europe. "Our primary focus for gasoline remains ensuring consistent supply to domestic markets through our retail outlets, and oil companies," Nayara said adding gasoline export sales were flat at 0.9 million tonne in January-September 2023 when compared with the year-ago period.
Gasoil percentage export sales in the European Union has been less than 3 per cent of total gasoil exports during the last 5 years, it said adding Nayara supplied no diesel to Europe this year. Also, "no gasoline has been exported to Europe," it said.
The company is primarily focused on catering to the domestic market through institutional business, sales to other oil companies and through its own retail chain. India structurally, is long on diesel and the surplus is to be exported after satisfying domestic demand.
Nayara is the fastest growing private retail network with the addition of around 500 retail outlets every year. Nayara network is fully automated (98 per cent of outlets) for enhanced controls and standards.
Prasad Panicker, Chairman and Head of Refinery, Nayara Energy, said, "As an Indian company, Nayara is in India and for India. We are highly committed and driven to fuel the nation's growing demand for energy. As a major downstream player, delivering about 8 per cent of India's refining output, Nayara Energy is contributing significantly towards India's energy security."
"We believe in being a strong partner to India's energy needs and will continue to serve the country's consumption demands. In the near future, we will also start to contribute towards India's growing demand in the field of petrochemicals," he added.
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