Soaring diesel and gasoline prices hiked the value of India’s fuel exports by 50% between April and September, while the world was grappling with the worst of the Middle East crisis so far.
India earned 2.59 trillion Indian rupees, or $27.2 billion, from fuel exports in the six months to September, per oil ministry data cited by The Economic Times. The surge in rupee terms was 50% compared to the same period last year, also driven by the weakening Indian currency against the U.S. dollar.
The value of diesel, gasoline, and other fuel exports in dollar terms also jumped by 40% in April to September, right after the war in Iran crippled crude oil and fuel supply and drove fuel prices to record highs. The soaring regional fuel prices more than offset the 16% decline in export volumes, as the regional diesel benchmark jumped by 83% and gasoline by 54%.
Diesel was the single biggest contributor to India’s soaring fuel export value with a 58% jump to 1.2 trillion rupees, or $12.6 billion, even if export volumes slumped by 19% from a year earlier. Earnings from diesel exports in dollar terms jumped by 48% amid an average regional diesel benchmark price of as high as $151 per barrel.
Amid the global diesel crisis, India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said last month that the country would keep exporting diesel to help meet global demand and ease the fuel crunch.
“We honor our commitments,” the minister said at an industry event in New Delhi in September, noting that India’s refining capacity continues to expand thanks to years of investments.
India’s refining capacity today is around 5.36 million barrels per day (bpd), which will rise to 5.8 million bpd over the next year, Puri said. By 2032, India targets to have 6.4 million bpd of refining capacity, the minister noted.
“At a time when refining capacity is declining in several parts of the world, India is moving in the opposite direction, building new refineries while simultaneously expanding and modernising existing ones,” Puri wrote in a post on X.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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