India's pet coke production declines slightly, consumption surges in Dec'24
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India's domestic pet coke production in December 2024 stood at 1.31 million tonnes (mnt), marking a 2.3% y-o-y decline from 1.34 mnt in December 2023. However, production recorded a 4.6% m-o-m increase from 1.25 mnt in November .
Cumulatively, April-December 2024 production stood at 11.14 mnt, showing a slight dip of 0.6% from 11.21 mnt in the corresponding period last year. The total production of pet coke in FY 2022-23 was recorded at 15.39 mnt, which declined to 15.05 mnt in FY 2023-24, reflecting a negative growth of 2.2%.
Pet coke accounted for 5.20% of total petroleum product output of 25.25 mnt in December and 5.26% of 211.62 mnt during April-December 2024.
Pet coke production trends align closely with the product-mix strategies adopted by refineries, as pet coke is a by-product of refinery operations. The proportion of high-value transportation fuels like diesel, petrol, ATF, and gas from Delayed Coking Units (DCU) significantly impacts pet coke output levels.
Consumption of pet coke in December surged to 1.87 mnt, marking an 18.7% y-o-y rise from 1.58 mnt in December 2023 and a 2 increase from 1.80 mnt in November. Cumulatively, pet coke consumption for April-December reached 16.11 mnt, showing a robust 12.98% growth from 14.26 mnt in the corresponding period last year.
The increase was primarily driven by demand from key consuming sectors such as cement, lime kilns, calcium carbide production, and gasification industries.
Outlook
The production-consumption gap continued to be met mainly through imports, with limited exports recorded as per industry requirements.
Notably, India's pet coke imports are regulated by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), allowing only select industries such as cement, lime kiln, and aluminum to import petroleum coke under specific quotas.
From FY 2024-25, the import allocation for raw petroleum coke (RPC) used in calcination has been raised from 1.4 mnt to 1.9 mnt, likely boosting future consumption trends.
