Bharat PetroleumCorp

Adds shares in paragraph 2

Aug 18 (Reuters) - India is offering incentives to gas distributors across cities to boost domestic connections of piped cooking gas, the government said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupts fuel shipments and drives up import costs.

Shares of city gas distributors rose after the announcement, with Indraprastha Gas IGAS.NS climbing 3.5%, Mahanagar Gas MGAS.NS gaining 4% and Gujarat Energy GJAA.NS rising 0.5% on Wednesday.

India, the world's second-largest liquefied petroleum gas importer, has been using the cooking gas crisis sparked by the Middle East war to plug gaps in its distribution network and speed up the shift to piped gas in a bid to cut down on LPG imports and spending on subsidies.

• Under the incentive scheme, effective September, city gas distribution companies will get an additional 200 standard cubic metres of cheaper, domestically produced gas for every household they connect to, which starts using and paying for piped natural gas.

• The scheme will incentivise city gas distributors to turn unused pipe connections into active, paying customers, and extend the pipeline network to reach new households, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas said.

• The extra gas, which will lower overall gas-sourcing costs, is also expected to help distributors recoup their investment in new connections in about three years, down from roughly 10 currently, the government said.

• Since the start of the war, suppliers including Indraprastha Gas, Mahanagar Gas, GAIL Gas and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS have offered incentives such as reductions in installation charges for piped gas connections.

• India currently has about 17.4 million domestic PNG connections, the government said Tuesday. That compares to about 331.4 million active household LPG customers as of July 1.

• India meets about 60% of its LPG needs through imports. It shipped in about 22 million metric tons of LPG in 2025, mostly from the Middle East, spending nearly $12 billion.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Mexico City and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara and Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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Aug 18 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited BPCL.NS:

• BPCL - APPROVES FUND RAISING UP TO 50 BILLION RUPEES VIA NON-CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES

• BPCL - FUND RAISING TO BE DONE IN UP TO 10 TRANCHES

Source text: ID:nBSEJWwxD

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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Adds details, background in paragraphs 4-5

Aug 14 (Reuters) - India has lowered windfall taxes on exports of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel with effect from Saturday, according to a government order.

The duty on diesel exports has been cut to 24 Indian rupees ($0.2515) per litre from 25.5 rupees, while petrol duty has been set at zero rupees per litre, down from 3.5 rupees, the government order showed.

The tax on aviation turbine fuel has been set at 19.5 rupees per litre from 22 rupees earlier.

India first imposed windfall taxes in July 2022 to capture extraordinary gains from soaring oil prices and scrapped it two years later. The levy was reintroduced in March 2026 after oil prices surged during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

India currently revises the export levies every fortnight, based on international prices of crude oil and petroleum products.

($1 = 95.4400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Mark Porter and Chizu Nomiyama )

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By Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hours after India made public assurances last week that its ethanol-blended petrol was safe, the country's main auto lobby withdrew a complaint about fuel contamination it had sent to the government a week earlier. The group said some figures needed more checks.

But separate communications between industry executives, reviewed by Reuters, showed that in the preceding days, top automakers Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, Tata Motors TAMO.NS and Mahindra MAHM.NS discussed their concerns about contamination of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, called E20.

Their data compiled the most comprehensive fuel testing done by the industry since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government started rolling out E20 nationwide from last year to help curb pollution and cut oil imports.

With no other petrol available since April 1, consumer concerns have grown about the impact on vehicle performance.

The carmakers' emails show for the first time how they are privately worried about contaminants in E20, like chloride and moisture, which they say are hurting vehicles, even as they publicly back the government's rollout of the fuel.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) withdrew its July 28 letter on fuel contamination after a government and public uproar over the warning, saying "some numbers" need "authentication".

The previously unreported industry data and emails reviewed by Reuters show "multiple" automakers had already conducted extensive tests by collecting over 250 fuel samples from pumps over a year from as many as 21 of India's 36 states and territories. They found high chloride contamination in many of the samples in 18 states, as well as high moisture content.

The executives' emails raised no concern about data authentication.

Asked for comment on the private emails, SIAM told Reuters the data was intended only for internal circulation, discussion and validation, and collected by "very few" automakers.

Maruti, Tata and Mahindra, who were part of the SIAM internal emails seen by Reuters, account for 67% of India's car market.

As "the testing basis and sample size were insufficient to support definitive conclusions, the communication was withdrawn" as it was sent inadvertently, SIAM said, adding it intends to undertake a proper scientific study.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not respond to requests for comment. Its minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Friday that two weeks prior to receiving the letter from SIAM, India's oil marketing companies had begun "rigorous testing" of fuel at retail outlets to check for contamination.

Only four cases of contamination were found, he said. State-run fuel retailers also said last week that extensive random and scientific tests showed "no cause for any alarm on account of fuel contamination".

Mahindra said conclusions drawn from its executive's emails "are completely baseless and incorrect", industry data is limited and preliminary, and it does not see issues with E20. Maruti and Tata did not respond to requests for comment.

AUTO INDUSTRY MET GOVERNMENT TO FLAG CHLORIDE CONCERNS

E20 has angered motorists, with hundreds alleging it has reduced mileage and increased wear and tear on their cars, and triggered at least one court challenge.

SIAM had earlier said high levels of chloride are corrosive for auto parts, while high moisture levels in fuel can immobilise a vehicle immediately after fuelling.

In the group emails exchanged among Maruti, Tata, Mahindra and SIAM, Maruti's senior executive Anoop Bhat raised concerns on the high chloride findings saying this had been privately discussed with the petroleum ministry on July 26.

The tabulated state-wide findings shared by the industry on group emails showed they recorded chloride levels of 6 to 570 parts per million (ppm) in Rajasthan state, 1.4 to 420 ppm in the capital New Delhi and 10 to 357 ppm in Maharashtra.

The Indian government says the permissible limit is 3 ppm.

The data tables also showed moisture levels reaching 13,000 ppm in Andhra Pradesh and 12,500 ppm in Uttar Pradesh, versus a permissible government benchmark of 3,000 ppm.

While the reason for contamination is not known, SIAM said in its now withdrawn letter it had seen an increase in chloride levels since the rollout of E20 and has requested the government to direct oil marketing companies to find the root cause.

For moisture, the SIAM letter noted, the cause could be inadequate "maintenance of the underground storage tanks and pipelines at retail outlets".

Maruti's Bhat wrote in his July 26 email that 1 ppm of chloride was the maximum that current fuel injectors, which transport fuel to the engine, "can tolerate".

"Lesser than 1 ppm in E20 is also in line with international standards. Same is in line with discussion held with" the petroleum ministry, Bhat wrote.

Mahindra's senior principal engineer of fluids technology, R. Ramaprabhu, said in emails that organic chloride is the contaminant responsible for the very rapid vehicle failures the industry is seeing and can spoil engines "within 200 km".

"Majority cases reported immediately after fuelling ... is due to organic chloride," he wrote, adding that Mahindra has "strong evidences" of fuel sample data from retail outlets.

Mahindra's Ramaprabhu and Maruti's Bhat did not respond to Reuters' queries.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Sonali Paul)

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Aug 10 (Reuters) - Kotyark Industries Ltd KOTY.NS:

• KOTYARK INDUSTRIES - RECEIVES CONTRACT FOR SUPPLY OF BIODIESEL FROM JUNE TO AUGUST 2026

• KOTYARK INDUSTRIES - RECEIVED TOTAL ALLOCATION OF 1.73 BILLION RUPEES, AGAINST CONTRACT VALUE OF 13.98 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEcdv5yq

Further company coverage: KOTY.NS

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Aug 7 (Reuters) - India's state-run fuel retailers said on Friday that nationwide testing of E20 petrol found no evidence to support claims of high chloride contamination or moisture and that fuel quality remained within prescribed limits, according to a joint statement.

More than 100 petrol samples from refineries showed chloride levels at or below one part per million (ppm), while ethanol samples from 80 distilleries recorded chloride content below 3 ppm, HPCL HPCL.NS, BPCL BPCL.NS and Indian Oil IOC.NS said.

Here are more details:

• The clarification comes amid concerns about India's nationwide roll out of E20 petrol, which contains 20% ethanol, a plant-derived alcohol mixed into petrol to reduce dependence on imported crude oil.

• More than 80 E20 samples collected from depots and terminals nationwide also showed chloride levels below 3 ppm, the statement said.

• The oil marketing companies said inspections of underground storage tanks at about 90,000 fuel stations found no water ingress, and urged consumers to continue using E20 petrol with confidence.

• The transition has drawn criticism from some consumers, who say the higher ethanol blend affects fuel efficiency and vehicle performance, particularly in older vehicles not designed for the fuel type.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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Repeats story with no changes to text

By Siyi Liu

SINGAPORE, July 23 (Reuters) - Some Chinese refiners have ramped up purchases of sanctioned Russian crude despite shrinking discounts, as an escalation in the Iran war disrupts exports from the Middle East, sources familiar with the situation said.

Chinese independent refiners made rare purchases of non-sanctioned Middle East crude at wide discounts when exports gushed out during the short-lived truce between the U.S. and Iran.

A resumption of attacks and shipping blockades in the Strait of Hormuz is again throttling oil shipments through the crucial waterway, and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis are also threatening to block Saudi oil exports from the Red Sea.

Faced with disruptions, Chinese refiners recently snapped up crude from their biggest supplier Russia and resumed talks to buy Iranian oil, traders said.

Two major Chinese refiners bought most of the Russian ESPO Blend crude loading from the Pacific port of Kozmino in September, three trade sources said.

Two of them said the cargoes were sold at a discount of $1 to $3 per barrel to ICE Brent, compared with a discount of around $4 per barrel for August-loading ESPO. Robust demand from India, another major Russian oil buyer, has supported prices.

An executive at India's Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS said on Thursday that the refiner has raised Russian oil processing in the June quarter and added that traders are not offering discounts on Russian crude sales.

"Given the uncertainty in the Middle East, ESPO is a safer bet, and it is also cheaper," said one of the sources who is a trader with a Chinese refiner.

SHANDONG TEAPOTS IN TALKS FOR FRESH IRANIAN OIL CARGOES

Independent refiners, also known as teapots, in eastern China's Shandong refining hub are discussing deals with Iranian oil sellers, the sources said.

This week, Iranian Pars crude, a heavy grade, was sold at a discount of about $8 a barrel to ICE Brent for delivery to Shandong, widening from an earlier offer of about $6, one of the traders said. Offers for Iran Light have also slipped to discounts of about $3 to $4 a barrel compared with about $3 last week.

Teapots are not in a rush to buy crude as their refining margins have worsened with Brent LCOc1 surging to nearly $100 a barrel, the sources said.

The independent refiners had previously bought around 20 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude for loading in July to August, with some of them looking to resell the oil this week for profits, traders said.

The cargoes had been offered to end-users in neighbouring countries including Taiwan and South Korea at premiums of $6 to $9 per barrel to Dubai benchmark on delivered basis, two traders said. It was not immediately clear if any deals were concluded.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Trixie Yap; Editing by Joe Bavier)

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By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 23 (Reuters) - Traders have stopped offering discounts on Russian crude sold to India as disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies have boosted demand for alternative grades, the head of finance at Indian state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS said on Thursday.

Refiners in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, have raised purchases of Russian oil as supplies from traditional producers in the Middle East have been disrupted.

BPCL has secured crude supplies for August and is scouting for cargoes for September delivery, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told analysts after the company's quarterly earnings.

He said the company is receiving offers from traders on Russian oil cargoes for September delivery.

"But definitely because of recent development in crude markets, now no one is offering any discount for Russian crude," he added.

Discounts for Russian Urals crude recently widened to more than $10 a barrel below dated Brent in Indian ports.

"Although markets witnessed a brief period of stability during June, the latest geopolitical development has reminded us how quickly it can reshape the operating landscape," Gupta said, adding that suppliers may not be in a position to supply some cargoes through Red Sea routes.

The disappearance of discounts follows a jump in global oil prices after Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and renewed disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz after an escalation in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, raising costs for refiners reliant on imported crude.

Higher crude costs are likely to squeeze profitability of Indian state refiners, which sell fuels at subsidised rates in their domestic market.

BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp both reported quarterly net losses on Wednesday.

BPCL, which processes more than 800,000 barrels per day of crude, met 69% of its oil needs through spot purchases in the June quarter, Gupta said.

($1 = 96.5550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma
Editing by David Goodman)

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July 22 (Reuters) - India's Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Wednesday posted its first quarterly loss in 15, as elevated crude oil prices eroded fuel marketing margins.

• BPCL posted a net loss of 39.62 billion rupees ($410.5 million) for the three months June 30, against a profit of 61.24 billion rupees a year ago.

• Average global Brent crude oil prices LCOc1 were about 45% higher than in the year-ago quarter, driven by tensions in the Middle East.

• This pushed fuel marketing margins into negative territory, with the cost of retailing fuel exceeding earnings from sales.

• Petrol and diesel marketing margins averaged negative 10.6 rupees per litre and 18.4 rupees per litre, respectively, during the quarter, according to Jefferies analysts.

• The company's total expenses jumped about 36% to 1.66 trillion rupees, with a 68.7% surge in cost of raw materials consumed.

• Fuel demand weakened in India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, with consumption declining 4.6%, 6.5%, and 3.1% year-on-year in April, May, and June, respectively.

• Revenue from operations rose more than 23% to 1.59 trillion rupees despite the drop in demand, as the state-owned firm received compensation of 18.98 billion rupees from the government for losses in the liquefied petroleum gas segment.

($1 = 96.5275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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By Krishna N. Das and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, July 15 (Reuters) - Top Russian energy companies have approached Indian refiners for more gasoline after Ukrainian strikes knocked out a significant portion of Russia's refining capacity, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

India is the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil, making Moscow's bid to secure Indian gasoline an unusual reversal in the countries' energy trade relationship, highlighting the extent of the disruption caused by the Ukrainian attacks. Moscow is witnessing its worst gasoline crisis.

At least one cargo of Indian gasoline has already sailed to Russia and more are expected, with nearly 40% of Russia's refining capacity unlikely to return for at least two months if there are no further attacks, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Rosneft ROSN.MM, Gazprom Neft and Lukoil LKOH.MM are among the companies that have contacted Indian counterparts, including private and state-run refiners, the source said, adding that any supplies would be routed through traders if deals are agreed.

Sources at three Indian state refiners said Russian companies had approached them for more gasoline but that they have no surplus volumes to export. They and the other two sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Major Indian state refiners including Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum CorpHPCL.NS, the three Russian oil companies, and Russia's energy ministry did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month that Indian companies were not selling fuel to Russia but it was possible that Russia purchased Indian-origin fuel from traders.

SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERS

One of the sources familiar with the matter said any further supplies from India could reach Russia through ship-to-ship transfers. Russia would seek supplies of diesel if Ukrainian attacks knocked out further refining capacity, though there were enough supplies of the fuel for now, the source added.

Reuters reported early this month that traders have sold gasoline produced by Indian refiner Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft, to Russia.

Tanker Agni loaded with 42,000 metric tons of gasoline from Nayara's Vadinar port between June 18 and 20 and did a ship-to-ship transfer of the cargo onto the vessel Garnet at Damietta Light near Egypt, between July 6 and 7, Kpler said in a note citing satellite imagery. Garnet is expected to reach Vitino in Russia around July 26, the ship tracking agency said.

Shipping sources said another tanker, Varg, loaded with gasoline from Nayara's Vadinar port, was bound for Suez, where the cargo is expected to be transferred to another vessel off Egypt for onward shipment to Russia.

Nayara told Reuters it "has neither sold nor has any plans to sell fuel to Russian companies".

"Nayara Energy remains committed to serving the Indian market and meeting the demand for fuels across the length and breadth of India," it said in response to questions from Reuters.

"As the country’s largest private sector fuel retailer, our only priority is to ensure optimum supplies to over 7,000 stations and other channels including bulk customers."

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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By Mohi Narayan

NEW DELHI, July 13 (Reuters) - Spot premiums for Indian naphtha exports have rebounded to levels last seen in late March, as tight supplies from the Middle East and Russia and renewed concerns over U.S.-Iran tensions boosted demand from Far East buyers.

Indian state refiners Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS sold about 63,000-65,000 tons (567,000- 585,000 barrels) of naphtha, used as a feedstock for making petrochemicals like plastics and pharmaceuticals, through tenders last week at premiums similar to late-March highs, multiple trade sources said on Monday.

BPCL sold 36,000-37,000 tons of naphtha at a premium of about $100 per ton to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for loading during July 30 and 31, two trade sources said.

HPCL sold about 27,000-28,000 tons of the light distillate at a premium of about $68 per ton to Middle East quotes on an FOB basis for loading during July 25 to 27, two separate sources said.

Premiums have jumped from just above $40 a ton the previous week.

Tight supplies from the Middle East and Russia have boosted demand for Indian naphtha from buyers in the Far East, a Mumbai-based trader said.

Oil companies typically do not comment on trades.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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July 2 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• HEC INFRA PROJECTS LTD - GETS WORK ORDER WORTH 480 MILLION RUPEES FROM BPCL

Source text: ID:nnAZN4T5LGA

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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June 29 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• BPCL - SIGNS AGREEMENT TO BUY 40% STAKE IN TIKI TAR AND SHELL INDIA PRIVATE

• BPCL - TO BUY 40% STAKE FOR 850 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE8KwM3S

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, June 18 (Reuters) - Indian state fuel retailers' borrowings are hitting limits as they incur losses from selling gasoline, gasoil, and liquefied petroleum gas at below market rates, India's oil secretary Neeraj Mittal said on Thursday.

• State-fuel retailers' revenue losses in the first quarter of this year have risen to 1 trillion rupees ($10.60 billion), Mittal said at an industry event.

• Borrowing by Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS has risen as the companies absorb those losses, he said.

• While many countries have raised retail prices of gasoline and gasoil by about 40%-50% after the Iran war drove up crude prices, India has raised prices of the two fuels by less than 10%.

  
  

  ($1 = 94.3500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold at least 30 million barrels of spot crude to Asian refiners and trading firms so far this month and offered more this week, trade sources said, boosting exports during the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

The United Arab Emirates producer sold cargoes of Das, Upper Zakum and Umm Lulu crude to refiners in India, China, South Korea and Japan as well as to global trading houses. Some were priced at flat to slight premiums to Dubai benchmarks for loading between June and August, the sources said.

The three crude grades are produced from fields inside the Gulf and must be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

The sales were conducted over the past two weeks, ahead of the signing of a preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end their conflict.

ASIAN BUYERS

Indian state refiners Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS have bought a combined 6 million barrels of Abu Dhabi oil so far this month, the sources said.

The cargoes were sold at parity or premiums of $1–$2 a barrel to Dubai prices on a cost-and-delivered basis via ship transfers at Fujairah, they added.

ADNOC's sales also included 3 million barrels of Das crude to Japan's largest refiner Eneos and 1 million barrels to South Korea's GS Energy.

For Upper Zakum, China's Unipec, the trading arm of state giant Sinopec, bought 6 million to 8 million barrels, while Vitol took 4 million barrels and Rongsheng Petrochemical 2 million barrels, the sources said.

South Korea's largest refiner SK Energy bought 7 million barrels of Umm Lulu crude, they added. Some cargoes were sold at premiums, two of the traders said. The companies typically do not comment on commercial sales.

ADNOC offered the cargoes on a free-on-board basis from storage at Fujairah, or from terminals at Zirku or Das Island, as well as via ship-to-ship transfers off the UAE, Oman or Malaysia. Buyers also had the option of cost-and-freight delivery.

ADNOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the Iran war began, ADNOC has exported crude and products by switching off transponders to reduce the risk of Iranian attacks, with cargoes either transferred ship-to-ship or sailing directly to buyers.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore. Editing by Mark Potter)

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June 5 (Reuters) -

• INDIA INDUSTRY SOURCE: STATE FUEL RETAILERS REVENUE LOSS ON GASOLINE SALES 9 RUPEES/LITRE, DIESEL 36.5 RUPEES/LITRE

• INDIA INDUSTRY SOURCE: STATE FUEL RETAILERS REVENUE LOSS ON LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS SALES AROUND 700 RUPEES/14.2 KG CYLINDER

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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June 4 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• INDIA BPCL SAYS MAY GASOLINE SALES UP 4.29% Y/Y, DIESEL UP 6.72%

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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By Nidhi Verma and Mohi Narayan

NEW DELHI, June 3 (Reuters) - India is expected to see less growth in gasoline and diesel demand this year after a series of price hikes last month that reflect higher oil costs triggered by the Iran war, with early signs of stress already visible in the trucking sector.

State retailers Indian Oil IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS implemented four rounds of price hikes since mid-May after holding off earlier due to elections. Gasoline prices are now 7.8% higher while those for diesel are up 8.6%.

Analysts say there could be more price increases that are likely to dampen demand further, given that the retailers are still selling the fuels below market rates and are losing a combined 5.5 billion rupees ($57 million) daily.

Slowing growth in fuel sales for India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer, is set to dampen the outlook for global demand now that transportation fuel consumption in China has peaked.

"We expect India's gasoline demand growth to drop to around 3.5-3.7% in 2026 amid reduced discretionary driving," said Dylan Sim, an analyst at FGE NexantECA.

That compares with an earlier estimate of 4% growth. The consultancy has also cut its forecast for growth in diesel demand to 2% from 2.5%.

Moody's Indian rating arm ICRA has revised down its forecast for gasoline demand growth for this financial year to 3% to 4%, compared with 5% to 6% before the war. For diesel, it expects demand to stay flat or shrink versus an earlier projection of 2% to 3% growth.

Prashant Vashisth, senior vice president at ICRA, said that the diesel and gasoline price hikes could exacerbate inflation which could hurt end-user demand.

Increases in logistics and shipping costs, also stemming from the Middle East conflict, could lead to "weak industry growth which would negatively impact diesel demand," he added.

TRUCKERS AFFECTED BY LESS INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

Global oil prices LCOc1 have surged 40% to trade near $100 a barrel since the war restricted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which used to see a fifth of the world's oil supplies pass through before the conflict.

Signs of lower diesel demand due to slower industrial activity have emerged in the trucking sector.

Freight prices have fallen between 13% and 15% on three-quarters of key long-haul routes despite the increase in retail fuel prices, said SP Singh, senior fellow at the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.

Singh noted that drivers are having to wait longer periods before making return trips.

"Truckers are not getting return tonnages. There is a delay of 3-5 days because manufacturing has slowed, that is hitting their revenue as their round trips per month have been reduced," he said.

Preliminary data showed that Indian retailers' gasoline sales in May rose 2.8% from a year earlier while gasoil sales edged up 0.9%. That compares with April figures of a 6.8% climb for gasoline and a 0.8% increase for gasoil.

($1 = 95.7625 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Mohi Narayan; Editing by Florence Tan and Edwina Gibbs)

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Adds details throughout

By Nidhi Verma and Ananya Palyekar

May 25 (Reuters) - India's state-owned fuel retailers increased diesel prices by 2.71 rupees ($0.0283) per litre and petrol by 2.61 rupees, dealers said on Monday, the fourth hike in May to recoup some losses driven by higher crude costs due to the Iran war.

Indian state fuel retailers, which control 90% of the market, began raising pump prices from May 15 after elections were over in some key states.

Since then the state companies - Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS - have raised the prices of diesel by about 8.6% and petrol by about 7.8%.

A litre of petrol in New Delhi will now cost 102.12 rupees ($1.07), while diesel will be priced at 95.20 rupees ($0.9949) per litre.

Rising crude prices and supply disruptions after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have hit India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer.

New Delhi has also introduced austerity measures to curb fuel consumption and contain its oil import bill as policymakers brace for a prolonged energy shock.

Prices vary across states due to local taxes.

State retailers' losses on fuel sales have also risen as some bulk customers are turning to cheaper retail pumps, causing shortages in some areas.

IOC in a statement on Saturday said its retail sales of diesel for May 1-22 had risen by 18% from a year earlier, and petrol sales were up by 14%.

($1 = 95.6900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sonali Paul)

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May 23 (Reuters) - Indian state-fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices by less than a rupee on Saturday, dealers said, the third such increase this month as the government looks to recover some losses from high crude prices caused by the Iran war.

Petrol in New Delhi will cost 0.87 rupees (just under 1 U.S. cent) more at 99.51 rupees a litre, while diesel will be priced 0.91 rupees higher at 92.49 rupees per litre, dealers said.

($1 = 95.6900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Chris Thomas in Mexico City;)

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By Nidhi Verma and Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, May 21 (Reuters) - Industrial customers in India are increasingly buying diesel from cheaper retail outlets of state-run companies rather than the usual bulk supply points, causing shortages at the pumps in some areas, a government official said.

Diesel sales at pumps in some regions have jumped 20% to 30% as prices for industrial buyers climb to 40 to 42 rupees a litre higher than retail pump prices, said Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the federal oil ministry on Thursday.

The retail price of a litre of diesel is 91.58 rupees in New Delhi.

The spike in demand is adding to losses for state-run Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS, which are already selling diesel at below market prices for retail customers.

"Bulk customers should take from bulk supply points and retail buyers should go to the petrol pumps," Sharma said.

State fuel retailers are monitoring sales at outlets facing shortages and are seeking support from local authorities and police to curb purchases by bulk consumers, she said.

Preliminary fuel sales data show Indian state retailers' diesel sales from May 1 to 15 surged nearly 11.5% to about 3.8 million metric tons from a year earlier, while gasoline sales rose nearly 19% to 1.8 million tons.

Indian state retailers' diesel sales are also driven by higher prices charged by private fuel retailers and rising consumption from farmers using diesel-powered generators for irrigation during the harvesting season, she said.

BPCL on Thursday said its gasoline sales surged by 16.38% to 1 million kilolitres between May 1 and 20 from a year earlier, while gasoil rose by 16.7% to about 1.7 million kilolitres.

The company said it is focusing on maintaining seamless supplies across smaller cities and remote markets, "where localised demand spikes and precautionary buying tendencies have been observed in recent days".

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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Corrects 8th paragraph to clarify premiums on Russian crude have fallen and not discounts

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - India's state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp. BPCL.NS is recalibrating its crude import strategy almost daily and ramping up spot purchases after the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran disrupted Middle East supplies, Chairman Sanjay Khanna said on Tuesday.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, has been hit by rising crude prices and supply disruptions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The South Asian nation has raised the retail prices of petrol and diesel twice in a week.

The refiner had planned to source about 55% of its crude requirement for 2026/27 through annual contracts, mainly from Middle Eastern producers, and the rest through spot markets.

But force majeure declarations by some Gulf suppliers have pushed Bharat to increase spot buying to keep refineries running at 115% capacity, Khanna said.

"Definitely, our spot volume has gone up considerably in recent times because of all the uncertainty."

Bharat operates three refineries in India with a capacity to process 706,000 barrels per day of oil.

The state-run refiner meets 40%-45% of its crude needs with Russian oil bought largely in the spot market after Washington granted sanctions waivers, Khanna said, although discounts have narrowed sharply.

Premiums on Russian crude have fallen to $5 to $6 per barrel to dated Brent on a delivered basis from $10 to $12 earlier, finance director Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta said.

Despite recent fuel price hikes, BPCL continues to incur a revenue loss of 25 to 30 rupees (26 to 31 U.S. cents) per litre on diesel and 10 to 14 rupees per litre on petrol, Gupta said.

BPCL expects spot purchases to ease if Saudi Arabian contracted supplies improve after the restoration of the Kingdom's east-west pipeline capacity.

Saudi Arabia is currently giving only "a small commitment” for supplies through the pipeline, Gupta said.

BPCL is also evaluating annual supply deals with new producers for next year if they offer flexible delivery terms and competitive pricing, although the company prefers sourcing from nearby regions over distant suppliers such as Venezuela and Canada.

The refiner also has an optional annual crude purchase arrangement with Brazil.

($1 = 96.5325 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma)

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Adds companies planning a staggered increase in pump prices

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - India state-fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices by less than a rupee per litre on Tuesday, the second increase in a week to recover some losses from high crude prices resulting from the Iran war.

After the rise of roughly 0.9 rupees ($0.0093), consumers will pay 98.64 rupees for a litre of petrol in New Delhi and 91.58 rupees for a litre of diesel, dealers said. Prices vary across the country because of regional taxes.

Although petrol and diesel prices are deregulated in India, the government exerts significant influence on prices as the majority shareholder of the key retail companies.

Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the oil ministry, said on Monday the state fuel retailers have been losing 7.5 billion rupees daily. The government has no plans to provide financial support for them, Sharma said.

Sources at refiners said more price hikes are needed to recoup the losses. The fuel retailers did not respond to Reuters' emails seeking comment.

India is the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil and was one of the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran triggered a surge in prices globally.

State-run Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS, which together control more than 90% of a network of 103,000 fuel stations, tend to set prices in tandem.

The state-run suppliers raised petrol and diesel prices on Friday by 3 rupees a litre, the country's first price increase in four years.

Dealers and analysts said they expected a staggered increase in prices, similar to April 2022 during the COVID pandemic.

Opposition parties said the government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had postponed price increases to try to win votes in recent state elections. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party won two of the four states, expanding its political influence.

Modi has urged people to limit their travel to conserve fuel and curb buying gold.

($1=96.3450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan, Tanvi Mehta and Nidhi Verma, Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Thomas Derpinghaus and Neil Fullick)

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May 15 (Reuters) - Indian state fuel retailers have raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by 3 rupees ($0.0313) per liter, according to retailers in Delhi, as they aim to recoup some of the losses incurred due to higher global oil prices.

($1 = 95.7625 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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Adds details on price increase from government officials

By Neha Arora and Nikunj Ohri

NEW DELHI, May 12 (Reuters) - India will at some stage need to assess how long state-run fuel retailers can sustain losses from selling transport fuels below market prices, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at an industry event on Tuesday.

Petrol and diesel spot prices have surged to multi-year highs globally as the Middle East conflict disrupted supply, but governments in several major economies have held down pump prices to shield consumers from inflation.

A joint secretary in the oil ministry, Sujata Sharma, had earlier said that India had no plans to ​compensate oil marketing companies for these losses.

Fuel retailers are incurring losses of about 100 rupees ($1.06) per litre on diesel and 20 rupees per litre on petrol, Sharma said last month.

India is the world's third-largest oil importer and ​consumer, meeting more than 90% of its crude oil needs and about half of ⁠its natural gas demand through imports.

Indian state fuel retailers, including Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS, which account for most of the fuel sales in the country, have not raised gasoline and diesel ​prices since April 2022.

A senior government official separately told Reuters that compensating oil marketing companies while keeping fuel prices unchanged is not fiscally sustainable.

Another official said any price increase would be substantial enough to discourage spending on petrol and diesel, but not so large as to sharply stoke inflation.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Oil minister Puri also said India has crude and liquefied natural gas sufficient for 60 days, and liquefied petroleum gas for 45 days.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged on Sunday a spate of measures including fuel conservation, work-from-home practices and limits on travel and imports to ease pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.

The country's balance of payments is expected to worsen sharply during the current 2026-27 fiscal year, with the deficit projected at about $66 billion to $70 billion, up from an estimated $26 billion to $28 billion in 2025-26.

(Reporting by Neha Arora; Writing by Mohi Narayan; Editing by YP Rajesh and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - India has no plans to compensate state-run fuel retailers for losses from selling transport fuels below market prices, a senior petroleum ministry official said on Monday, even as companies raised prices for some industrial and bulk customers.

Indian state fuel retailers have raised prices of liquefied petroleum gas for industrial customers and jet fuel sold to foreign carriers, but there has been no increase in retail prices of gasoline, gasoil, LPG or jet fuel for Indian carriers.

Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS have also raised diesel prices for bulk buyers.

Sharma said bulk customers account for about 10% of overall diesel sales.

The government's efforts are focused on protecting the retail customers, she added.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, April 28 (Reuters) - India has asked motorists to avoid panic buying and clarified that there was no proposal to raise pump prices for diesel and gasoline, a government official said on Tuesday.

"We have adequate supplies of liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, and diesel. There has been no increase in prices. Please avoid panic buying and do not believe rumours," Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the federal oil ministry, said at a news conference on Tuesday in an appeal to buyers.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has been hit by rising oil prices triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S.-Isreli war on Iran.

India's crude import prices rose to $120 per barrel earlier this month, denting the margins of retailers on the sale of gasoline and gasoil, as the higher costs have not been factored into the pump prices.

Indian refiners have not raised pump prices of gasoline and gasoil in four years to shield consumers, despite volatility in global markets.

Analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities in a recent report estimated there was a need to raise the price of a liter of gasoline and gasoil by 25-28 rupees after elections in some states end on April 29.

According to estimates by Mumbai-based ICICI Securities, profit after tax for these oil retailers likely declined by 82% in the March quarter over a year ago, as crude oil costs soared but retail prices did not move up in tandem.

Reliance Industries RELI.NS, operator of the world's biggest refining complex and India’s biggest company by market value, late last week flagged "unprecedented" supply disruptions and a sharp hit to profit in its March-quarter earnings.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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NEW DELHI, April 27 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp's IOC.NS, the country's top refiner and fuel retailers, sale of diesel and gasoline has surged more than 13% during April 1-26, 2026, its head of marketing, Saumitra Priya Srivastava, said in a post on social media platform X

• IOC, the country's top fuel retailer and refiner, is meeting the local demand through its over 42,000 fuel stations, he said

• Diesel sales in some parts, mainly in southern Andhra Pradesh, surged by about 30% to 33%, leading to some retail outlets facing shortages, said Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the federal petroleum ministry

• Sharma said India has sufficient stocks of diesel and gasoline, while some retail outlets have experienced problems due to panic buying

• She said India is not expected to import diesel and gasoline to meet local demand

• Earlier in the day, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu said in a post on X that action should be taken against anyone attempting to engage in black marketing or to create artificial shortages of diesel and gasoline

  
  

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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NEW DELHI, April 23 (Reuters) - Indian fuel retailers are suffering a revenue loss of 100 Indian rupees ($1.06) per liter on the local sale of diesel and 20 rupees per liter on gasoline for selling the two fuels at below market rates, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in India's oil ministry said on Thursday.

Indian refiners last raised fuel prices in April 2021. India has no plans to raise fuel prices as of now to shield customers, she added.

($1 = 94.0950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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By Colleen Howe and Sethuraman N R

BEIJING/NEW DELHI, April 22 (Reuters) - In the rolling, wind-swept grasslands of Chifeng in northern China's Inner Mongolia, towering white wind turbines line hilltops like sentinels over a hydrogen industry Beijing is trying to prise away from coal.

They are part of a $2 billion project - the biggest of its kind - that harnesses renewable energy to run banks of electrolysers that produce the molecules needed for fertilizer, marine fuel and low-emission steelmaking.

India shares China's "green hydrogen" ambitions, but its commitments are even more concrete and aggressive. Backed by subsidies worth some $2.1 billion, New Delhi is targeting 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030 - five times the current size of the global market and about double what analysts estimate Chinese output will be by then.

The massive bets by the world's two most populous nations come at the same time that the West has quietly backed away from its ambitious green hydrogen goals from the start of this decade after cost constraints proved stickier than anticipated.

What China and India have in common - despite very different motives - is the power and political will to force a market into existence, by underwriting projects, steering demand and pushing costs down through scale.

India has drawn private capital by pairing subsidies with offtake guarantees from refineries, fertiliser plants and steelmakers, making projects bankable from the outset.

The motivation is energy security. Hydrogen in India is overwhelmingly derived from imported natural gas, whose supply has suffered a sequence of shocks from the Middle East, Ukraine and the pandemic.

For China - able to deploy state-owned giants or attract private firms with large-scale, planning-led industrial projects - the aim is to preserve its dominance in hydrogen as the industry shifts towards cleaner energy.

In its five-year plan announced in March, Beijing listed green hydrogen alongside quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces and AI-enabled robotics as a frontier industry - an elevation in status that signals more capital will flow its way.

CHINA: SPEED AND SCALE

China invested $3.7 billion in green hydrogen production last year, more than double U.S. levels, said Rystad Energy's head of hydrogen, Minh Khoi Le.

By 2031, China will have some 2.6 million tons per year online, representing $26 billion in investment, according to Rystad projections.

Much of 2025's outlay went into the Chifeng project, operated by Chinese wind turbine maker Envision Energy. It aims to sell green hydrogen and ammonia to markets in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, and delivered its first green ammonia cargoes to South Korea's Lotte Fine Chemical in February.

"If we go back a year or two ago, China was not very visible on this situation of green hydrogen, and then two years later they have almost all the biggest projects in the world," said the International Energy Agency's hydrogen lead, Jose Bermudez.

China last year likely doubled its renewables-based hydrogen production capacity to 250,000 tons - more than half of the global total, and surpassing a 2022 target to produce 100,000 to 200,000 tons annually by 2025 - said Agora Energy China managing director Kevin Tu.

In Inner Mongolia and other places with high winds and strong sunlight, costs can fall to around $2 per kilogram for green hydrogen, close to parity with coal-based hydrogen, Tu said. On average, producing green hydrogen in China costs around $4 per kilogram, he said.

INDIA: AGGREGATING DOMESTIC DEMAND

India has brought the price of producing green hydrogen as low as 279 rupees (around $3) per kilogram, from around $5 in 2023, when the government launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission under the clean energy ministry.

Abhay Bakre, who heads the mission, told Reuters that the cost should drop to near $2 by 2032 as technology improves, processes become more efficient and more components are made domestically.

Projects will begin delivering "large quantities" of green hydrogen as soon as next year, he said, and "scale up very fast" to hit the target of 5 million tons by 2030.

Under the initiative, industrial heavyweights including Larsen & Toubro LART.NS, Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, GAIL GAIL.NS and JSW Steel JSTL.NS produce about 8,000 tons of green hydrogen and its derivatives annually.

New Delhi is kick-starting demand through state-run reverse auctions, where sellers try to undercut each other to win long-term contracts, effectively revealing the lowest price producers can bear.

The government said last month that suppliers and fertiliser companies had signed offtake agreements for 724,000 tons of green ammonia, which could cover one third of the country's hydrogen requirements.

Maintaining momentum will require "bold, sector-specific domestic initiatives, coupled with strategic international partnerships to unlock export potential", analysts at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis wrote in a report.

"With one of the lowest costs of renewable power generation in the world, India is well placed to capture a significant portion of the export market."

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in New Delhi and Colleen Howe in Beijing; Editing by Kevin Buckland)

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